You Mad, Razz Head?
by eternalsnowfox
Summary: Cam is a hotheaded trainer with a passion for adventures. Problem is, her uncle is the only relative she has that can tolerate pokemon. If he were to suddenly go on a trip and entrust his house in her care, she's bound to do something she shouldn't. The catch? Famous and arrogant Gary Oak is ordered to keep her in line.
1. Shut Your Big Meowth!

**For those of you who don't know me, I'm ESF, originally writing that lone Death Note story that hasn't been updated in ages. I have no idea where that's going to go, but to prove that I'm not just being lazy and doing nothing, I'm posting this way earlier than I intended. It's 2013 now, so I figured why not? **

**The pokemon you'll see in this plot are all up to Sinnoh, but none from Unova – sorry. I may make a reference to the region, but otherwise, even the pokemon from Sinnoh aren't familiarized very well with Kanto, Johto, or Hoenn. Since the characters in pokemon never seem to age, I'm going to majorly skip ahead and try to put things into more of a realistic perspective. Also, the pokeballs are similar to how they are in the manga: you can actually see the pokemon inside. You'll understand more when you read it later.**

**So grab some cookies or Reeses cups, cuddle under a snuggie with a best friend who will probably poke fun at you for reading a pokemon romance fanfic, set up some pokeraps in the background, and enjoy the story. **

**Warning: The summary of this story is subject to change at any time. Please do not be angered by my indecisiveness. Thank you for your cooperation.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or any of its characters. I do, however, own Cam, the train station guys, and...well, any character unfamiliar to Game Freak, Takeshi Shudo (may his gloriously brilliant soul rest in peace), and any of the increasingly disappointing writers of the Pokemon TV series (sorry, Black and White lovers. It had to be said). **

**Chapter 1: Shut Your Big Meowth!**

"Bellsprout, vine whip!" a voice commanded in a flurry of panic. Before the small pokemon could attack however, it was kocked back by an unforgiving scratch from the paw of a very angry meowth.

"Bell…" was all the bellsprout could manage as it fell to the ground in defeat.

A boy, not even old enough to be on a pokemon journey, returned his last pokemon shakily and gulped at the large group of meowth that were eyeing him dangerously. Their whiskers twitched as they moved in. Just as the alpha meowth prepared to pounce on its fearful prey, the voice of the boy's savior ripped through the air.

"Dragonbreath!

A serpentine-like pokemon dove out into the clearing and shot green flames from its mouth. The blast was powerful – power that only a dragon pokemon could possess. Emerald flames danced in a protective line between the group and the boy before they evaporated, leaving behind a charred, smoking line.

"Now, use twister, Jabari!" The creature (of what the boy determined to be a dratini) gave an effective, yet strained whip of its tail that sent gusts of wind toward the attackers. The cats panicked and scattered, diving into the shelter of the bushes. The alpha meowth still remained; his tail bristling.

"Slam!" The dratini sprung up in the air and landed on the smaller pokemon with an ill-sounding _thud_. Normally a meowth would have easily dodged an airborne attack, but this dratini moved so fast that it could put an electrike to shame.

"Go, pokeball!" Meowth glowed with a red familiar light and disappeared. A shaking pokeball took its place.

The boy stood stunned for a moment as a female trainer bounded out of the shadows cast by the trees and ceased the capture device quickly. "Are you okay, kid?" she turned to face him, and he took notice of her appearance: more specifically, her hair. It was a strikingly deep red, reminding the boy of razz berries, and tied loosely off to the side. A few freckles darted her features, adding to the kid-ish effect, but on the other hand she looked to be a teen. Her tacky attire included a black zip-up jacket lined with white fuzz, a red plaid skirt, converse shoes with neon green laces, and black socks that went all the way up past her knees.

And _this _was the trainer that caught _his _meowth?

"H-Hey! I was going to catch that pokemon!" the boy yelled indignantly with clenched fists. How dare her! It was obvious that he almost had it.

The girl in question narrowed her eyes and frowned. The ball containing the meowth was being tossed repeatedly and carelessly into the air and the dratini slithered to its trainer's feet. "Thank you, oh glorious trainer! You've saved my life from a pack of ferocious pokemon! How can I ever repay you?" her voice became high-pitched in attempts to mimic the response she would have liked to receive.

The child glared at this and held up a pokeball. "I'm warning you! If – If you don't give it back, I'll fight you for it!" In all honesty, he really didn't care which meowth he caught. He was just mad that _a girl_ had not only caught the strongestmeowth out of the group, but saved his butt in the process.

She stared at him for a moment before she burst out into unimaginably fierce laughter. His brow twitched as she wiped an invisible tear from her eye.

"What's so funny?"

"Silly boy. I just watched you battle! You don't have anymore pokemon left." In response, the boy pulled a childish pout. "No worries, though. I can walk you to the pokemon center if you want."

He blinked in surprise at her kind offer, but a scowl quickly took over his face. "No way! I'm not going anywhere until I get my meowth back!"

"Look, kid! It's fair game! I weakened it, I caught it, so it's mine!" she barked and took a threatening step forward. Her dratini noticed this and bravely nudged her leg with its big silver nose, reminding the trainer to keep her cool. She inhaled and exhaled sarcastically, earning an eye roll from her pokemon. Regardless, she put the meowth on her belt and crossed her arms. "Fine. Don't accept my gracious help." She turned on her heel and stomped away while her dratini barely managed to dodge her raging feet.

Uncertainly, the boy glanced at his surroundings. He had chased the felines farther than he usually did, and he didn't recognize where he was at all. Just as the trainer was about to leave his sight, he called, "Wait!"

…

"So…you live in Vermillion?" the trainer asked after a long awkward silence. They were traveling on Route 6 in the direction of said city without much disturbance from wild pokemon, which they were rather thankful for.

"Yeah," the boy said gruffly. He was still fuming from earlier, no doubt. More silence enveloped the pair as they walked on. He took notice of the dratini at the red-head's feet once again. He kept giving the pokemon curious looks as it slithered like a snake on the dirt path. "Where did you get a dratini?"

She smiled proudly. "His name is Jabari. I caught him at Dragon's Den in Blackthorn City when I was visiting Johto."

He went wide-eyed. "_The _Dragon's Den? In Blackthorn?"

"Yep. That's where all the best dragon tamers come from! Claire, Lance-"

"If you're a dragon tamer, then why do you need a meowth?"

A vein nearly popped out of her forehead. "Still won't let that go?" she shouted angrily. Had she been standing still, she would've stomped her foot in frustration; a bad thing for poor Jabari.

"Well all of the _best _dragon tamers only tame dragon pokemon."

"Aw, what do you know? You're just a kid!" She calmed down a bit before adding inquisitively, "How old are you, anyway?"

"Nine. But in a month, I'm going to be old enough to go on a pokemon adventure and be the best trainer in all of Kanto!"

She raised an eyebrow at the little soon-to-be trainer and took note of the determination in his eyes before responding with a somewhat genuine smile. "Well, good luck. It's a rough world out there." Tch. Dream big, little nine-year-old. Otherwise, she liked his spunk.

The city was almost in full view. White and brown houses of all shades were scattered across the area as well as shops. They could even get a glimpse of the port from the large hill they were now starting to walk down. The girl squinted at the sun's rays and tilted her head. She couldn't help but to feel as if she'd forgotten something.

Then it hit her.

She whipped out her pokenav and checked the time. Sure enough, she was way behind schedule.

"Oh crap! I'm never gonna make it in time!"

"In time for wha-"

The girl turned the way they had come and sped off before he could finish his sentence, leaving him (quite literally) eating her dust. "You can make it to Vermillion from here! It's not that far!" she threw over her shoulder.

A few seconds later, he recovered from his coughing fit and gave a start. "Um…wait!" He frantically positioned his hands around his mouth to serve as a megaphone. "My name is Leo!"

The redhead smirked, Jabari hot on her heels. "Call me Cam!"

Leo pulled a face as her figure disappeared. "I didn't hear you…" he muttered sadly. "Hm?" He spotted a pokeball overturned in the grass, of which he assumed to be the trainer's. He picked it up and examined the red tinted, yet transparent surface of the ball. There was a pokemon inside, but he didn't recognize it. Shrugging, he clicked the button and the ball opened, causing Leo to be temporarily blinded by the white light since he was so close.

"What kind of pokemon are you?" He inspected the tiny metal-clad pokemon as it smiled up at him with huge blue eyes.

"Aron!" was its happy reply.

…

Cam's feet pounded against the dirt path as she followed the swiveled route back to Saffron. She would've taken a shortcut through the trees and the grass, but she didn't want to risk wild pokemon slowing her down. "Keep going, Jabari! We're probably not going to make it, but we can try!"

The pokemon would have rolled his eyes had he not been rushing by his trainer's side. She was always horrible at encouragement.

Once inside the ginormous city, she made a beeline for the train station. She noticed the usual large clock hanging above the entrance way, but stumbled when she saw that she only had a minute left.

"Out of my way, please! Excuse me! Sorry!" Cam pushed through the throng of people as quickly and politely as possible, despite the old woman that she was certain she bowled over.

When she finally burst free from the crowd, her pace only quickened from the adrenaline.

One of the police officers stepped out from behind the corner to see what all the commotion was about. A girl and a dratini were racing towards him at top speed, causing him to jump in fright. He raised an eyebrow when he spotted her red hair and instantly recognized her. He crossed his arms and shook his head. "Here we go again…"

"Keep up, Jabari!" he heard the trainer say as she rifled through her pouch to retrieve the pass, the action clearly slowing her down.

The police officer adjusted his hat and said loud enough to be heard, "Don't worry about it; just go!"

Cam's eyes brightened as she removed her hands from her pouch and raced passed the police officer so fast that he felt the gush of wind that came with it. "Thanks, Al!"

He smiled halfheartedly and offered a little wave, even though she didn't see it.

"She does know that this is the fastest train in all of Kanto" another police officer walked up to the gateman, scratching his head in wonder, "and that she can just catch it again in about an hour or so, right?"

Al shrugged. "Who knows with that girl? Some say she's almost as strange as Duplica." This earned a chuckle from his companion.

Cam must have tripped on the stairs so many times, it was a wonder how she didn't fall and break her skull. She smiled when the Magnet Train came in view; she was only a few steps away, now…

Then the door started to close.

Anger picked at her nerves. "Not today!" She leapt at the train with her arms shielding her view, hoping she wouldn't crash too badly. Actually, she was more worried about getting stuck between the door and the side as it closed. Talk about scary.

Jabari hummed as his body charged with power. He released a full on agility attack, crashing into Cam's back and as a result, sending the pair flying into the train and making painful contact with the opposite wall.

Passengers stared: some were in absolute disbelief at the girl who looked as if she was going to kill herself just by trying to get on a train, while some merely sighed at the scene, having already encountered the girl's crazy antics on previous occasions.

"Hah, we made it!" She jumped up and struck a victory pose as the train began to move. Jabari rapidly shook his head a few times to get rid of the slight pain in his nose and slithered to the side as Cam sat down on the floor again. There weren't any vacant seats in this part of the train, which was really no surprise for her considering she had almost missed the departure, but she didn't mind sitting on the floor. She smiled a big smile and directed it at her pokemon. "Smart move, Jabari. Way to think on your belly."

The pokemon narrowed his eyes in response, and Cam appeared confused. "What's up?"

Jabari hummed lowly and hit his tail against the floor.

"Did you just growl at me?" Cam had a dangerous edge in her voice, but her dratini held her gaze steadily. "Oh, I know what it is." She nodded and crossed her arms, leaning back on the wall. "You're mad because I told that Leo kid I got you from Blackthorn, aren't ya?"

He nodded and brought his tail closer to his body, as if waiting for an explanation.

"What? I wasn't going to tell him that I won you at the slots! That whole story was just to get him off my back about Meowth. We've done this before, remember? Every time you're too weak to battle or you just need to save time, bring up Dragon's Den and people leave you alone. Not that hard when you have a dratini to show for it." She winked and smiled cutely before drawing out a huff. "Though, that kid was feistier than I thought. Oh well, it doesn't matter. I'm probably never going to see him again anyway, and I managed to get the pokemon Uncle Nigel wanted." During her speech, she had brought out Meowth's ball and poked the red part of the sphere, causing the miniature cat to swat a paw at the surface.

Cam's lips curved upward as little hearts sprouted from around her face. "You're so cute~!"

Jabari closed his eyes and hummed in defeat, curling up his stubby body and resting his head on his tail.

Fifteen minutes later and they arrived in Goldenrod City. Cam beamed as she stepped out onto the platform and put her hands on her hips, taking a deep and audible breath before exhaling loudly. "Nothing like traveling by train, huh Jabari?" A train that went 340 miles per hour still amazed her to this day. When she was younger, she would ride the train for no other reason than to ride it.

Her pokemon nodded happily in reply as the two headed out of the station. The city was bustling with action and conversation: it was a pretty lively place. The radio tower was the closest, but as soon as she walked out onto the main street, one could see that the department store was the busiest. The amount of people rushing in and out was enough to make her head spin.

Jabari nudged his trainer with his nose, obviously wanting something. Cam looked at him in question before snapping her fingers. "Ah!" She reached into her pouch and took out a small jug of water. "Almost forgot to give this to you." Cam unscrewed the cap and stuck the bottle under Jabari's nose. The pokemon happily clutched the bottle in his hidden mouth and tipped his head up, drinking half of the liquid inside before setting it down. Cam grinned and picked up the jug, pouring the rest of it on Jabari while making sure to get his stomach. "We can use the rest of it since we're close to Uncle Nigel's. Then you can swim in the pond all you want, okay?"

The trainer knew for a fact that nearly all dratini spent most of their first evolution lives in the water, and a lot of particular trainers from the Pokemon Fan Club would consider a dratini on land to be some form of abuse. However, this pokemon was received from the prize exchange, making it a lot tougher. Not only that, Cam had the special training of her uncle to help her out.

Cam was about to rise from the ground, but turned her head to examine the odd coloring that flashed through her peripheral. The sun glinted off of the object in a way that made her flinch, but as she moved her head to the side, she deduced that it wasn't that threatening. "A necklace?" She was almost sure it was. She moved closer and picked it up, being careful not to hold it to the light for fear of the sun attacking her poor vision. It was a yin-yang necklace. The yellow half blended in with the road and the other half was a light shade of green. She stood and crushed the empty water jug and threw it in a nearby trashcan, keeping her eyes on the necklace. She smiled and put the black string around her neck, holding up the pendant for Jabari to see. "It's plain, but it's kinda pretty!"

Jabari tilted his dragon head at the object and narrowed one eye. Cam laughed at the strange expression, but the confusion on the pokemon's face was replaced with annoyance as he slapped his tail against the ground.

"Huh? What is it now?"

He pointed back at the spot where she found the necklace with the tip of his tail and stared her down expectantly.

"Don't get your fins in a twist! It's not like I'm _stealing _it. If the person really wanted it, she'd make sure to keep it around her neck, right?" After she received a glare, she said, "I'll tell you what: if we ever run into the girl this belongs to, I'll give it back, that's all."

He let out a soft inaudible sigh as Cam began to slip the pendant under the front of her jacket to conceal it. Jabari smacked his tail against the ground a little bit harder this time.

"I…I just don't want it getting in the way!" she fibbed. Jabari's moral values had always been higher than her own, though she never understood why he was so bent on being Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes.

She took a step forward, heading in the direction of her uncle's, only to do an abrupt double take behind her. The Goldenrod City Gym sat all by its lonesome at the edge of the district. The sign next to it read:

_Goldenrod City Pokemon Gym Leader: Whitney_

_The Incredibly Pretty Girl!_

She smiled and bounced on her heels in excitement.

"Come on, Jabari! Let's go see Whitney first!"

The dragon pokemon seemed to like this idea and the clash about the pendant was quickly forgotten.

"Let's make it a race, okay? Ready! Set!" Cam took off before officially starting the race and went until she was over halfway there before shouting, "Go!"

Jabari's eyes glinted mischievously and swished his tail back and forth, waiting for the right moment. Energy surged through his body as he performed agility for the second time that day, being the first to make it through the door that his trainer had just opened.

"Hey!" She stomped her foot angrily and glared while Jabari lifted his head proudly. "That was cheating!"

"Darling Camellia!"

Cam snapped out of her frustration at the serpent and whipped her head around to see a gorgeous brunette in her mid 20's run up to her with open arms. The luscious blonde curls and waves of her hair bounced behind her and she was wearing a simple white tank top and a short purple skirt. The amount of jewelry she had on (mostly silver-colored) exceeded the average wearer and her strappy summer heels carried her with grace that only a beauty could manage.

"Samantha!" Cam called brightly as she prepared for a hug.

The beauty embraced her warmly. "We missed you!"

Cam heard a sigh coming from her left. "Sam and Cam: reunited once again."

"That was a slant rhyme! Very clever."

"Thanks Carrie, but you ruined my cool moment by pointing it out…"

Samantha released the redhead and the latter smiled at the two lasses, Cathy and Carrie. "Oh, you girls!" After sharing hugs with her longtime friends, she pulled away and searched the gym. "Is Whitney here?"

It was Samantha who answered from the floor since she had crouched down to pat Jabari on the head. "No, you just missed her. She went home for the day, and we were staying behind for cleanup."

Cathy rolled her eyes. "Victoria went home, too. She said something about breaking a nail…"

"Hey! That is some very serious business!" Samantha declared and nodded as if it was a stated fact in an encyclopedia. "A woman's nails are treasures that should be protected and pampered to bring out the pure, admirable femininity just waiting to be shown to the world!"

Cam shrugged, deciding not to comment on Samantha's short rant. "I'll just come by tomorrow to see them. Maybe I could watch you tear up more of the gym during training…" She motioned towards the knocked over potted plants, ripped up wallpaper, and scattered flowers across the gym floor as she said this and the other girls chuckled. "Need any help?" she offered, but Cathy shook her head.

"No, we're fine. Did you go see your uncle yet?"

Carrie cut in before she could reply. "Moreover, did you catch that meowth he wanted?"

"Uh…no and yes," she answered the questions in sequence and the girls squealed in excitement. "Let me see it!" the lasses shouted simultaneously, allowing Cam's smile to widen. Carrie and Cathy weren't related, but they could most definitely pass as sisters. They looked similar, they always dressed the same, but in different colors, they say the same things at the same time – not to mention their names coordinated as twin names usually do.

The trainer removed her meowth from her belt and let it out of its ball, causing the girls to gasp at its cuteness.

"Is it a boy or girl?"

"Can I pet it?"

"Is it soft?"

"How strong is it?"

"Calm down, calm down," Cam said as Samantha called out her own meowth. She let out a cheerful meow and when she spotted newcomer she stared curiously.

Cam's meowth held a poker face in return, but when she took a seemingly harmless step forward, it glared and hissed angrily, bringing out its claws in a threatening manner.

"Meowth! That wasn't very nice!" Cam put her hands on her hips and glared at the pokemon. It was a mean cat when she met it and it was a mean cat now. For some reason, this logic didn't make sense to her.

Meowth sat on the ground roughly and stuck its nose up in the air.

Cam raised an eyebrow warningly. "Okay, you sassy sack of fur. Back in the ball for you." She returned the pokemon and put it back on her belt. "Sorry, Samantha. It seems so cute when it's curled up in its pokeball."

"No worries! That's understandable – it's a new pokemon."

The redheaded trainer smiled. "Well, I should go see my uncle and give him this bratty pokemon. Hopefully he can teach it a few manners."

After saying her goodbyes, she walked out of the gym with her hands cradling the back of her head. The sun was setting, giving the sky a purplish tint. She admired the unique color for a bit and relaxed, letting the low volume of the city carry her thoughts from topic to topic. The department store was closing, meaning everyone was going home. There weren't that many people out and about, and the rushing had faded into a slow and steady pace.

"Get out of the way!"

Well. There goes the peace.

Cam didn't get a chance to see who yelled the warning because Jabari head butted her side. She fell with a thud as a kid on a wobbly bike zipped by at an alarming speed. She spat some of her dark colored hair out of her mouth and glared at the bicyclist, but her expression changed from annoyance to shock.

A boy with spiky brown hair was in the direct line of the contraption's path, but what caused her panic was the pokemon egg he was holding in his arms.

"Watch out!" Cam shrieked and her heart nearly stopped as she envisioned the egg's impending doom. She rose from the ground quickly just as the endangered boy spun around. Time only allowed his eyes to widen and the bicyclist nailed the front wheel into his leg. All Cam heard was a yelp and the crashing of the bike, but she had barely witnessed the scene.

Faster than any quick attack performed by any pokemon, she seized an ultraball from her waist and threw it as far as she could. "Syke! Catch that egg quick! Jabari, twister!"

Out of the ball came Syke, an abra that wasted no time in springing forward as soon as he hit the ground. He leapt into the air with his arms outstretched just as her dratini let a twister fly off the end of his tail. The wind pushed Syke farther as he came closer to the egg. Cam gasped when she saw that her abra flew a little bit farther above the egg than she would have liked due to his short arms. Thus, his attempts at grabbing it had failed.

As luck would have it, Syke wasn't a pokemon to disappoint his trainer. His tail was longer than his arms, which he used to his advantage. Just as his stubby arms missed the target, his tail curled up towards his body and lightly smacked the object into his tiny hands. He held it protectively to his chest as he somersaulted expertly through the air before landing harshly on the ground.

Cam held her breath and raced to her pokemon, her eyes glued to the egg. "Is it okay?" Worry had glossed over her amber eyes, making them twinkle enough for one to think she was going to cry.

Syke gently handed the egg to Cam as she inspected it for cracks. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found none. "Good job, Syke."

Her abra puffed out his chest and smiled proudly. This glorious moment was interrupted by a distressed Jabari, who nudged Cam. The redhead flipped her hair out of her face in a gentle motion and glanced in the direction her pokemon was pointing at. She'd completely forgotten about the boys involved in the accident, who were now groaning on the ground in pain. She rushed over to the one who was carrying the egg before and crouched down to his level. His black t-shirt and baggy blue jeans were plagued with dirt from where the bike wheel had unmercifully run him over. He was trying to get up, but it wasn't quite working.

"Are you all right?" she asked worriedly.

"Not…really." He didn't so much as glance at her as he tried desperately to stand. "The egg…"

"No, it's fine! I have it here, see?" Cam held it out to confirm its condition.

The teen eyed the oval object and gave a small nod. "You saved it…I saw…" He put a hand on the left side of his abdomen and groaned inwardly. "That was some nice" he stopped in mid-sentence when his eyes met hers. Cam's widened in turn as her heart skipped a beat and she nearly dropped the egg, but he didn't seem to notice. All she could pull into focus were his eyes. They were pools of pitch black, maybe with a hint of green, but they seemed warm and inviting. There were no words in her vocabulary that seemed to fully define them. A foreign feeling had washed over her right then and there, but it wasn't bad, she decided. Wait, how long had she been staring? "...teamwork," he finally finished before blinking and quickly drawing his eyes back to the egg.

"Oh, um…" Her mind moved slowly as she tried to remember what the hell he had said before that. An angry sounding voice entered her head as it yelled, "Way to go, Cam! Make yourself look stupid!"

She scrunched her nose at this thought and took to staring at the egg in her hands, wondering what she should do or say next.

The boy riding the bike shook slightly as he stood up while looking very guilty and apologetic. He put his hands together and bowed his head once he regained his balance. "I'm really, really, _really _sorry! I just got this bike from the bike shop, and it's one of the first to be tested, but the breaks wouldn't work, and-"

"You _should_ be sorry! This poor pokemon wouldn't have been able to live if my abra wasn't so skilled!" Jabari slapped his tail over his face at her comment as Cam jumped up and held out the egg in hopes to enhance the raven-haired teen's guilt.

"I know, and I'm truly sorry! If there's any way I can make it up to you-"

"Nah, don't worry about it."

Cam turned in surprise at the spiky-haired teen beside her, who had slowly and steadily risen from the cement. "What?"

"He obviously didn't mean to do what he did. As long as the egg is safe – that's really all I care about." He held out his hands and Cam reluctantly handed the fragile item over.

"Awww!" a group of girls chorused at the comment not too far from the pair. They were huddled together and smiling goofy grins directed at the russet haired boy. Cam raised her eyebrows, not expecting that reaction from bystanders at all. He didn't appear surprised and turned to them. Cam had to refrain from letting her jaw drop as she witnessed him soak up the attention by smirking and winking. In response, the girls blushed and giggled while some let out dreamy sighs.

He turned to the amber eyed trainer.

"Thanks. Though next time, I'll be on my guard enough to where I won't need help from any razz heads like you," he said arrogantly as he directed his smirk at Cam this time and the girl blinked in surprise at his sudden change in attitude. Razz head? Did he just call her a razz head? He had walked away (with a slight limp) and he raised a hand. "Smell ya later."

Cam couldn't take the weight in her jaw as she let it drop, staring after the guy that had just insulted her. It took her a few seconds to recover before complete anger took over. She clenched her fists and yelled, "That was so rude!" If he heard her (she was positive that he did), then he didn't respond. This only maddened Cam even more as she began to march after the object of her fury, only for one of her legs to be held back by Jabari's wrap and the other held by Syke's small yet strong arms. She struggled as she waved her fists in the air, making a scene. "Hey, get back here! Who the hell does he think he is – talking to me with a mouth like that? Let me at him! Just one hit, that's all I need! And here I thought he was nice! That little-"

She was cut off with a cough from the bicyclist. She turned to glare at him and crossed her arms. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

The boy gave a start and threw a hand behind his head, scratching it mindlessly as he tried to figure out what to say. "Uh…sorry?"

"Well _why _didn't you say that in the first place?" she snapped.

He stuttered when he realized that he was going to fall victim to her mindless anger. "Um…" He backed up slowly, nearly tripping over his fallen bike in the process. His voice picked up quick as he tried to string together a coherent sentence. "H-Hi, my name is Adam. What's yours?" He tried the friendly approach and held out a hand. Cam took a threatening step in front of her (causing Syke to stumble) which was enough to scare the poor kid into jumping backwards, tripping on his bike, and falling to the ground.

Cam flicked her hand at her pokemon, who released her on command as the former walked up to the boy with an agitated face. Adam flinched when she held out her hand, but looked up in surprise when he didn't feel the dreaded slap.

"Cam."

Adam hesitated in taking the hand, but gave in and allowed her to pull him up. She was looking more to the side than anything else and her eyes were narrowed. It was clear that she was still angry, meaning that Adam was treading some dangerous waters.

Cam's eyes darted to Adam, then back to the spot she had been studying. This repeated several times before the girl pulled another frustrated face and returned Syke.

"So, your name is Adam?" She exhaled and forced a smile, which was obviously fake. "I'd take that bike back if I were you. It'll earn the shop a bad reputation." She instantly dropped the façade as something came to her mind and grabbed her pokenav, checking the time. "Oh no! Jabari, we're late! I can't believe I forgot again!" She jumped over the bike and raced passed Adam as well as her dratini, leaving the boy in a puzzled state. He had no idea what had just happened. He picked up his bike and rolled it in the direction of the shop, but halted when he saw a medium-sized crowd of people gathered around the area. He was so afraid of Cam that he didn't realize the accident had attracted this much attention.

He gave an awkward smile to the group as he pushed his bike out of the crowd, hearing the strangest things being whispered along the way.

"Was that just Cam?"

"…he was in the Pokemon League?"

"…abra looked wicked."

"That was the same boy that…"

"Really?"

"…his grandson, Gary Oak…"

**Anyone hear the "What kind of pokemon are you~?" song after Leo said that line at the beginning? xD I just had to point that out. **

**Read! Review! All that good stuff. Any criticism is welcome, though, don't be harsh to the point of classifying as a flamer. Since I have a couple other chapters written, I'll be updating soon. Happy New Year~ **


	2. Where Are You, Aron?

**Chapter 2: Where Are You, Aron?**

On the far end of town was where Cam's uncle resided – the _very _far end. Once she had finally arrived, she swung the door open and ran inside without even bothering to knock. The house looked simple, but barren. No pictures, simple couch, simple television set. The walls were a mundane brown and everything was so dull. Her uncle didn't mind much, though. Most of his time was spent outside with his pokemon or down in the basement working on numerous lab projects. He was somewhat of a freelance researcher: he didn't work for anyone, but he would submit his research to different corporations and take up errands for professors around the world.

She was about to enter the living room when she spotted a pokemon blocking the doorway. It was the absol that her uncle had gotten as a gift from one of his friends in Hoenn. They were actually quite rare, and they only showed themselves when natural disasters were well on their way. She didn't know the full story behind the pokemon, but she never cared to ask anymore questions.

"Hi there, Abigail!" she greeted with a smile and pet the smooth white fur on her head. "Where's Uncle Nigel?" The absol gave a shadow of a smile, but was replaced with a straight face as she bounded around the corner and into the dining room. Cam tilted her head and followed the pokemon curiously. "So he's –AH!" a chatot flew passed, nearly missing her face and landed on the back of a dining chair. "Chatot! That was rude! Apologize," she demanded.

The bird flapped its wings and chanted, "Where's my daughter? Where's my daughter!"

"Huh?"

"You better get her right now or I'm calling Officer Jenny!"

Cam's eyes widened in response. "Stay here!" she ordered her dratini as she bolted passed Abigail, through the archway and down the hall. She swung open the door to a spare room and found a man in his early 30's with straggly black hair and a custom-made lab coat folded over his arm. He was on a video call, and Cam recognized the deep shade of red on the screen immediately.

She pushed her uncle aside and grabbed the receiver with fake smile plastered on her face. "Hi, mom!"

"Camellia Redfern! Where have you been?"

"Uh…" she looked to her uncle for some help. He was stalling for a while, so he must've come up with some excuse. From there on out it was a game of charades as he made ridiculous, dramatic movements. She kept outwardly guessing, but covered up her wrong answers lamely by saying she only passed those places or visited them beforehand and finally settled on the story that she was grabbing milk at the department store.

Her mother glared at the girl the entire time, not believing a word of it. "One hour getting milk? You were messing around with pokemon again, weren't you? I swear, Camellia, if you ever set foot outside of Goldenrod with some ridiculous notion that you'll become a pokemon trainer, you'll be sorry. You know better."

"I never said anything about pokemon, mom!"

"I know that look. Don't think you can fool me; I'm your mother."

Cam felt a little anger build up, but she ignored it. Although her mother was more direct with her rudeness and ridiculing of her daughter's dreams, Cam couldn't get that angry with her. She had built up immunity to it, and there was no use in trying to convince her that pokemon weren't meant to be feared. Cam and her uncle have tried in the past, but she would have none of it. Her father just didn't like the seemingly dangerous creatures and her mother was paranoid beyond measure. Oddly enough, they adored their vicious tabby cat that mauled Cam every time she walked into a room.

Their tiny argument continued, and at some point along the way, the woman on screen said, "You remember what happened with that growlithe. You don't want a repeat of _that _again, now would you?"

"That was years ago! And everyone knows not to torment wild pokemon – _especially _near Lavender Town in the ages of Team Rocket! Some crazy stuff happens when those grunts show up; you shouldn't judge the whole pokemon race just because of what one distressed growlithe did."

"Well what about all of the rattata near the house when we were living in Saffron? Feed them once, and they come back for more like a bunch of savage rodents."

"They're pokemon and they're hungry, of course they're going to come back for more! You expect too much from them."

"They _raided _my house!"

Nigel let out a loud "well" to get everyone's attention and snatched the receiver out of Cam's hands, pushing her face out of the way and keeping her struggling figure out of his sister-in-law's vision. "I think we're going to go get some dinner, Cam's probably starving!"

The redhead swatted viciously at his arm and muffled through his hand, "I am not!"

After an awkward and uneven exchange of goodbyes, Nigel hung up the phone and removed his hand from his niece's face.

"I could've handled it!" she crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at him, earning a raised eyebrow.

"You're sixteen. Don't you think you're a little old for sticking your tongue out like that?"

Cam narrowed her eyes slightly and stomped out of the room with her uncle in tow.

"I was talking to her for a whole hour, and I gave you a specific time. Why'd you take so long to get here?" he asked in slight agitation as they entered the kitchen. He opened the fridge and pulled out some leftover pizza slices, poking at the plastic covering to see if they were edible.

Cam hoisted herself up on the counter and grabbed the front ends of her jacket to bury her nose in. "I'll explain everything that happened today, only if you tell me why it's so cold in here."

"I, uh…decided to try something different a few weeks back and gave Vulpix some candy as a reward for a job well done in training… Let's just say she heated the furnace a little more than necessary...and some of the backyard… Thus, the reason we have no heat and no furnace," he mumbled something about trying to cover the cost of buying another one before starting up the microwave. "Delibird keeps opening his door and the air conditioner in there is always on high so…yeah. Anyway, enough about all that. What all _did _go on today?"

Cam had started from the very beginning (which was technically yesterday). Her immediate family was currently residing in Dewford town in the Hoenn region since there were rarely any wild pokemon that wandered from their habitats. She decided to be a rebel on the day of her departure and slipped away to Granite Cave, where she caught a friendly Aron. She got a boat ride from an old friend to Slateport City where she could take regional ferry to Vermillion City in Kanto. Cam briefly went over how she traveled to Route 6 to train for a while and managed to find the meowth he requested, being sure to mention the boy, Leo, and his "uncalled for" rudeness. She told of how she nearly missed the train, ended up in Goldenrod, stopped by the gym to say hi to some friends, and she ended with the boy and his egg along with Adam the reckless bicyclist.

"Sounds like you had an interesting trip this time. That was some quick thinking with Syke, there," Nigel praised as Cam beamed.

"Thanks! I wonder what was in the egg, though…"

"What'd it look like?" he handed the plate of pizza to Cam, who took it gladly and shoved it into her mouth. She let out a yelp as she kicked her feet off the wall of the counter and shook her head from side to side. "I just took it out of the microwave! Let it cool down, first," her uncle advised as her eyes began to water. She ignored his statement and blew on the pizza, devouring it once again.

"Pale blue," she mumbled carefully through the cheese. "And it had some sort of black splotches on it."

Nigel leaned against the stove and put a finger to his chin. After thinking about it for a while, he shook his head of black tangles. "Never heard of such an egg. Maybe it's a new pokemon? Certainly something I've never studied…"

Cam shrugged. "Maybe it's from Sinnoh?"

"I've only been to Sinnoh a few times to help Professor Rowan, but I never got a chance to observe the pokemon there. I mean, I managed to catch Chatot when I was vacationing in Sunnyshore, but that's it."

"Catch Chatot! Catch Chatot!" the bird squawked out happily.

Nigel smiled at him and crossed his arms, directing his attention back to Cam. "I was thinking about traveling there sometime soon, but I'm trying to wrap up things here, first."

Cam nodded in understanding. Her uncle was never a man to stay in one place for long due to his passion for the hands-on experience. "So what's been going on lately?"

"Not much. Hoothoot keeps trying to fly" this earned a snort from Cam as he continued, "and he still won't listen to reason. Ever since he broke his foot during your last visit, I had him all healed up and taking lessons from Butterfree: how she has the patience and tolerance to deal with that loony is beyond me. Only this time, he's forbidden to jump from anywhere but the small rocks in the backyard, so that's one less thing to worry about. Quagsire's eating everything in sight, and he keeps cleaning out my fridge after I go to bed. I keep forgetting to chain it up before I crash… Ah, whatever. Almost every pokemon is causing a problem for me nowadays – that's nothing new. But something strange _did _happen about two days ago."

Cam bit off some pizza crust and stared at Nigel, giving him her full attention. "Like what?"

"There have been rumors that a Team Rocket grunt showed up and tried to rob the city's gym leader of her pokemon."

She chocked on her pizza and endured a coughing fit, projecting her worry to her uncle afterwards. "Team Rocket? I thought they disbanded!"

"I don't know, maybe a few still have to get their heads out of the clouds and face the reality that their organization is gone and done for. Or maybe they really are back…"

"Don't scare me like that! There's no way Team Rocket can offer a counter attack without any warning," Cam shook her head disbelievingly while Nigel shrugged.

"It's possible. I heard that even Whitney couldn't fight him off. Some kid came along with a strange pokemon and defended her, scaring him away."

Cam leaned forward on her seat from the counter, completely enticed by the story. "And? Who was it?"

Nigel just shook his head. "No one knows. Those who were there claim that this guy was some elite trainer or something. I doubt it's true, though: you know the people of Goldenrod." Cam nodded in understanding and Nigel veered away from the subject. "But anyway, that's it. Nothing else has happened lately. Just the same old, same old."

She made a mental note to ask Whitney about her knight in shining armor when she visited the gym next. "Oh yeah! Before I forget, here's that meowth. Watch, though. It's a snappy little thing." She held out the pokemon's ball and Nigel took it with cautious hands. The meowth was seen through the red, purring at the sight of him and smiling. "It's a lie. Don't give in to the cuteness," Cam cautioned with a wag of her finger.

"Or maybe he just doesn't like you."

"Hey! I resent that statement. You know as well as I do that I am fabulous with pokemon! Except for Magnemite. And anything electric. But that's beside the point!"

Nigel rolled his eyes at her knowingly false proclamation. "Hm, well we'll just see how evil this cat really is." He was about to click the button when a small light on his watch flashed a bright green. "Ah, it'll have to wait. There's a video call." He placed the ball on the counter and walked out of the room and Cam glowered at the mini meowth with beady eyes.

"Think you're so cute, now huh? Well I'm not buying it, you little devil."

Meowth hissed in return and gave a tiny jump at the spherical wall, causing the ball to wobble slightly.

"Hah! You're not so tough. I'll take you on any day! I have to train my new pokemon, not that he'll get much of a workout from the likes of you. Wanna see?"

The meowth had a look of disdain as Cam giggled in a taunting manner. "Go, Aron!" She reached for her belt and grabbed air, but didn't realize it until she threw her empty hand forward. "Huh?" She felt her belt for the spot where she swore she put her new pokemon. Panic ran through her as she took off her belt fully and inspected her team. Jabari's empty ball was in front as well as Syke's ball next it. There was no other ball on the belt, causing Cam to gasp as she dug into her pouch. "This can't be happening! He was here, I know I had him!"

Once she had dumped everything out onto the kitchen table and there still wasn't any sign of Aron, she exhaled at her new realization in bewilderment. "But…how did it…who could've-" then a familiar voice echoed through her thoughts.

"_No way! I'm not going anywhere until I get my meowth back!"_

The redhead narrowed her eyes as her face reddened with anger. "That Leo kid! He…He probably stole my aron thinking it was that stupid cat!"

…

Nigel smiled at the person on screen. "No problem, Professor Oak – really. I'm available to lend a helping hand whenever you need it!" he stated proudly as he tapped a fist on his chest.

The gray-haired man chuckled at his determination. "I'm glad to know that I can count on-"

"THAT LITTLE THIEF!"

Oak let out a noise of surprise at the random outburst. "Is everything okay over there?"

Nigel furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and gave a nervous laugh in response to the admired professor. "You remember when I told you about my niece, right?"

"Ah, you mean Camellia?" Nigel nodded and Professor Oak followed up with, "She sounds so charming."

Nigel laughed softly and scratched his head with his index finger. "I should go see what the problem is. You can count on me, and it was nice talking to you again, professor."

"Same for me, Nigel. And thank you again!"

The line cut and the charcoal-haired professor sighed, walking idly to the kitchen. "Cam?"

He saw her traveling items scattered across the table and a red-faced Cam pacing the kitchen. Meowth was secretly snickering, but quickly mimicked Jabari's sad expression when Nigel entered.

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened," she started furiously. "The second pokemon I've ever managed to catch for myself was stolen! And I'll tell you exactly who did it. That stupid Leo kid was _so _hooked on getting Meowth that he had the nerve to try and _steal _it, but took Aron instead!"

Nigel tilted his head in question and brought up a good point. "That sounds a little too complex for it to be accurate… You shouldn't jump to conclusions. Maybe you just dropped it."

Cam turned on him with dangerous eyes. The amber in them seemed to come alive and burn darker with her rage. "I _always _make sure my pokemon are securely fastened to my belt. What kind of a trainer would I be if I couldn't even hold on to my own pokemon?"

"You've been doing all that running to the Saffron train station; I wouldn't be surprised if you somehow managed to drop him along the way."

"I'm heading out to retrace my steps, okay?"

"Now hang on a second, Cam. You can't just go leaving the region when it's almost dark outside. And although I encourage you to embrace your adventurous trait, your mother doesn't; I promised her that I wouldn't let you leave Goldenrod – or at least, go very far."

"But my aron-"

"Cam, have you bonded with this pokemon?"

She gave a start and looked down at the floor. "W-Well…no...I just caught it and I haven't taken it out of his ball since, but-"

"Then be thankful it wasn't your abra. There's no use in going all the way to another region to look for a pokemon that you've just caught. Chances are, someone came across him already and took him under his wing. It's a very popular route so I'm sure somebodypicked him up."

Cam frowned and crossed her arms. She wouldn't admit out loud that he was right, but that Leo kid could easily be pictured working alongside shady characters in her mind. She didn't trust him one bit. "Can I go search the city at least?"

Nigel's eyebrows dipped in sympathy and he nodded. "Go out back and get Murkrow and Chinchou to go with you. Be back in an hour, okay?"

"Ugh, why do I have to take Chinchou?" The girl expressed her dislike for the electric-type clearly and her uncle looked slightly irritated.

"Because chinchous are walking lanterns and the city lights won't be enough if you're looking for something as small as a pokeball. Just have him ride on Murkrow so you won't have to be near him."

Cam sighed. "Fine."

Once she walked out the door, Nigel felt his absol nudge his leg, asking for attention. He grinned as he pat her head, feeling her body vibrate with inaudible purrs. "I'll tell her about Oak's favor when she gets back."

Cam had searched every inch of the city, even though she hadn't been everywhere since arriving. She used Chinchou as her guiding light and Murkrow as the distance keeper. Also, she needed aerial views to double check her own searches.

At this point it in the game it had been way longer than an hour. Not that Cam was keeping an eye on the time: she had left her Pokenav at her uncle's. Sighing, she sat on a nearby bench and looked up at the sky. She couldn't see any stars like she could in Dewford because of the city lights. She had the same problem when she was living in Saffron. No stars meant no beauty in the sky for her to contemplate.

Chinchou had been let off of Murkrow onto the bench next to her as the bird perched on the back, glancing at his trainer's niece with sad eyes. Chinchou sat down with a "Chin!" and started batting the yellow sacks of electricity that hung in his face with his short blue fins, clearly enjoying himself and oblivious to the situation.

Cam observed the pokemon through her peripheral. He was just an egg when he was left behind at the Day Care. Nigel would usually take in spare eggs if no other trainer wanted them, which was quite a handful. Her uncle was one of those people who couldn't say no to an orphan, couldn't deny any request of his help, and insisted on training every pokemon he had to its fullest potential. He used to take his well-trained pokemon to the Battle Frontier and sell them as rentals, but for the last year or so his researching abilities grew high in demand, taking his attention away from everything else.

Chinchou rolled onto his feet and jumped into Cam's lap, smiling widely at her. "Chinchou!"

Wariness was imprinted on her features as she eyed him, unsure of what she was supposed to do. The sea creature flapped his fins excitedly and the lightning sacks glowed. Even though he was an electric-type, she couldn't help but to smile at how cute he was.

But it could only last for so long. He let out a loud "Chou!" as lightning erupted from his body, causing Cam to wail as the painful currents overwhelmed her body. From her head to her toes she was fried by Chinchou's thunderbolt, being one of the moves that she prayed his parents didn't pass on to him. As one could see, this hope only led to her clothes getting singed. She gritted her teeth and leapt off of the bench, sending the pokemon onto the ground.

"What the hell was that about, huh?" Chinchou may have been just a baby, but even a baby electric pokemon can pack a punch.

"Chinchou?" He tilted his body in question after finding a childish amusement in her suffering, but as soon as one of his lightning bulbs swung in his face, he returned to swatting it. "Chin."

"Come on. Let's just go home," Cam mumbled as she trudged back to Nigel's. Murkrow nudged Chinchou with the rounded part of his beak and allowed the water pokemon to stumble onto his back. They glided after the girl and the three slowly disappeared into the darkness of the quieter side of the city.

She wasn't surprised to find her uncle passed out on the couch with Abigail curled up in the middle of the floor. Cam sighed and entered the kitchen, only to find all of her previously strewn items back in her pouch. She grabbed it along with her belt and walked dejectedly up stairs to her room, passing Quagsire, who for some reason gave her the impression that he was up to no good. Cam ignored this, too wound up from the day's events and she opened her bedroom door.

Pokemon posters were plastered on the brown walls, varying from dragon-types to fire, to psychic, to ice. The types were endless (excluding electric), and her favorites were clearly shown by the numbers and sizes of the posters. The only people she had on her walls were the most famous dragon tamers of all time. Claire, the Blackthorn City gym leader, and Lance, Champion of both Kanto and Johto. They were separate posters, each owning at least one of dratini's evolutions. There was another tamer on her wall that had recently risen to the top and challenged Lance, giving him a run for his money. He won the Pokemon League at one point and challenged the Elite Four, taking them out with moderate difficulty, only to lose to the champion by a landslide due to Dragonite's famous hyperbeam attack. His name was Nicolas, a raven-haired tamer from Fallarbor town in Hoenn. Oddly enough, he wore a cape just as the others did. His two altaria were beaming happily on either side of him and the salamence that towered behind with wings outstretched was rather intimidating, but admiringly powerful.

Cam couldn't bring herself to fawn over the images of her idols as she dropped her pouch and fell onto her metal, springy bed. The covers were a lime green: her second favorite color next to red, and the pillow was plain, but fluffy.

Jabari had somehow managed to scale the stairs after Cam, nuzzling her leg to offer some comfort. She smiled at her dragon's attempts and sat up, patting his head. His skin was nice and cool, so she assumed Nigel had let him take a swim in the pond to get him refreshed and hydrated. "Don't worry about me, Jabari. Hopefully Aron found a good home. We'll just find another teammate to be you and Syke's training buddies, okay?"

The dratini hummed happily in reply as the redhead grabbed a ball from her belt. "Time to get some rest. We have to be in tip-top shape so we can start training tomorrow." The pokemon disappeared from the floor and reappeared inside the ball, curling up comfortably. Cam set him on her nightstand and reached for her abra's ball. The psychic creature had the oddest sleeping schedule she had ever witnessed, with him taking short on and off naps instead of resting for several hours straight. She released him from his ultraball and clipped it back on her belt, rising as she did so and pulling clothes out of her drawer. "No getting into mischief. You hear me, Syke?" He nodded his head groggily, indicating that he had just woken up.

After coming back from the bathroom in her pajamas, Cam curled up under the covers and reviewed the day's mishaps. Her thoughts rested on the egg as she began to get drowsy, wondering what would hatch from it. Her vision of this new pokemon shifted as she pulled different features and colors from her imagination, along with what kind of tail it would have, if it had one at all. Finally, her thoughts drifted to the mysterious russet-haired teen before entering the land of dreams.

Cam was up bright and early the next day, not even bothering to think about eating breakfast as she threw on some clothes, grabbed her pokebelt and pouch along with Jabari, and raced down the stairs. The excitement of being out in the open to train was rather overwhelming, so she could forget about getting the correct amount of sleep.

Nigel was still passed out on the couch, only this time, he had drool crusted on his face. Cam smirked at this and quickly made her way to the back door, only to pivot her heel when she saw a typhlosion blocking the way. Cam rolled her eyes at the sleeping pokemon and folded arms. "Come on, Jiles. You have to move." She prodded him with her foot, and when he offered no response, she scrunched up her nose and narrowed her eyes. "Jiles, get up!" she said a little louder in his ear.

The pokemon woke with a start and glared at her, letting his back erupt in flames to send the 'back off' message. When she flinched, the flames died down and disappeared.

Cam balled her hands into fists and stomped her foot. "Don't get all huffy with me, Mr.! I have some serious training to do and you're blocking the door."

"Kaaaa…" He rested his head down and twitched his ears, not bothering to move an inch.

"Why you-"

She felt a tap on her leg and the girl looked to her feet. When she saw that it was Syke, she beamed. "There you are! I thought you went outside for the night." She turned to Jiles and barked, "You listen here, you big lug." This caught the fire-type's attention as he raised his head, clearly showing offense to the comment. "Just because you were Uncle Nigel's first pokemon doesn't mean you can act all high and mighty. I am your _guest _and you should treat me as such!"

Jiles raised an eyebrow and pulled a half-eyed, uninterested expression before blowing a smoke ring in Cam's face. The trainer closed her eyes when they began to water. To hell with it. This pokemon was going to pay.

She straightened up and smiled a devilish smile. Syke stared in wonder as Cam left the room and came back shortly after with a water bottle. She gracefully unscrewed the cap and poured the cold water on Jiles' head. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and he flinched. He remained in shock until Cam emptied the last of the bottle's contents and threw it aside with a victorious smirk. Jiles' anger could be felt from a mile away and he bared his razor teeth as his body began to heat up, leading to the evaporation of the water on his head and neck. This created steam and gave the pokemon an even scarier look when flames sprouted from his back.

Cam giggled nervously at the sight of the typhlosion rising slowly and sizing her up. She was pretty sure that her life flashed before her eyes.

"_Rakaaaa!_"

"Eep!" was Cam's response as she made a mad dash for the front door with Jiles in pursuit. She threw the door open and she felt Syke crawl up on her back in fear.

Nigel woke up with a, "Huh…what?" but she didn't stop to say good morning for obvious reasons. She headed out on the road and sprinted into the city, but it turned into a full out run when Jiles' angry roar was heard. Syke had wrapped his legs around his trainer's neck and his arms around her forehead, clinging for dear life and occasionally blocking her vision. This slowed her down, but was pushed to run faster when Jiles started aiming brutal flamethrowers at her feet.

City dwellers turned their heads and raised eyebrows at the screaming redhead that flew past them. Their faces then turned to confusion or fear when they spotted the reason she had been running. Shop owners sweat dropped when they saw the scene pass their windows, as did many of the locals, muttering something along the lines of Cam being back and disturbing the peace.

After going down several alleyways and turning many corners, she finally lost him. She breathed a sigh of relief as she pried Syke from her head. The poor psychic was still fear frozen. "I'll let you get over the shock." Even in his pokeball, Syke had yet to move.

Cam straightened up and dusted off her baggy black cargo pants and straightened the orange tank top she wore. The pendant she had found the day before swung from side to side as she made her way to the gym, her wishing she had remembered to bring a jacket to conceal the lost item. Goldenrod was a big city, so she hoped no one would take notice and claim it. She tied her hair off to the side before taking out her Pokenav and checking the time.

"Ugh, it's too early. Whitney and her crew aren't up at this hour…" Sighing and clipping the device back onto her pokebelt, she headed for the Game Corner to kill some time. "Maybe if I find a trainer to battle before I go to the gym, just to get some practice in…" She nodded at her decision in approval, but the action was never carried out since her previous destination was right in front of her. The building was huge and purple with flashing lights hanging around the entrance. The owner made it so that people couldn't miss it even if they tried. The automatic doors slid open upon her arrival and a nostalgic smile was seen from the redhead as she viewed the many different games. There were only a few people and they were all at the slots – mostly those who were new to the gambling addiction and couldn't pull themselves away for the night. Hearing the slots rolling and the dinging sounds of winners was the greatest music to her ears she had ever heard.

Cam's smile widened when she noticed a heavy man with neatly combed back hair and a brown mustache sitting in a chair at a card table. He wore a sophisticated black suit, but he had the face of a risk-taker. "Mr. Game!"

The man leaned back slightly in his chair and turned around. "Cam? Is that you?" He laughed a bit after he squinted to temporarily fix his vision, though he didn't have to because he noticed her red hair. "It's been so long! How long has it been? Five months? Come, sit! Play some Voltorb Flip, no charge."

"Thanks." She weaved through the slot machines and sat on the other side of the man as the latter started a new game on the electric board.

"So how have you been? What about your dratini? Did it evolve yet?"

Cam sighed. "Mr. Game, you ask me that _every _time I come up to Goldenrod."

"Well you never know! Things change and you've put a lot of effort into that pokemon, I'll bet."

He had such a hopeful expression that Cam almost considered lying to him. After all, the dragon was won at _his _Game Corner by one of his luckiest customers. But lying would end with him wanting to see Jabari be a dragonair - and obviously, he wasn't.

"I wish he evolved…but he didn't," she mumbled lowly, but Mr. Game heard.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

Cam began to play the game, mindlessly tapping the cards. "I just don't understand why he's not evolving. I've had him for two years, now. And he's also my very first pokemon. You'd think he was strong enough…"

The man smiled sorrowfully, knowing her situation. "If only you could go on a journey…I'm sure that if Dratini saw at least a little bit of the world, he would grow." His attitude flipped faster than she was flipping Voltorb cards when she cleared the first level. "Now that's some real luck! Luck you can't find in anyone else but Camellia Redfern: the Great Gambler of Goldenrod! And to pull it off with such grace, no hesitation whatsoever! Fabulous, truly fabulous!"

The praised girl rolled her eyes at the infamous and uncreative nickname he gave her all those years ago, but giggled at how excited he was getting. It was a sad thought, but one of these days he was going to have a heart attack just by watching her play a game: she was sure of it.

The two conversed for a while on nothing in particular as Cam breezed through the levels. Most of the game was chance, and it was clearly shown that she had luck that gamblers from all over the region would kill for.

When she finished off the last card, he clapped and cheered for her success. "That was brilliant! Marvelous work, my dear. Come, come to the counter and collect your coins."

"Oh, but that's hardly fair! I didn't pay the usual coins before starting each of the cards…"

"Well if you're really that hooked up on it, I'll just dock thirty from the thousand you just earned."

Cam visibly flinched at the double-digit number that was deducted from her fabulous winnings. Maybe she should have left her nobility at home, or at the very least, with Jabari. "On the other hand, you said it was free of charge."

The man laughed loudly and nodded. "That's more like the Cam I know. One thousand it is, then."

"Oh, and Mr. Game? Could you hold on to those coins for a bit? I left my case at home."

…

The front door flew open and Cam ran into the living room, heading for the stairs.

"Oh hey, Cam! I need to-"

"Can't talk, Uncle!" She disappeared for a few seconds and ran back down the steps by threes, holding her usual black jacket in one hand and a blue box in the other. "Gotta run!"

"Hey, wait a minute!" But Nigel's order fell on deaf ears, and as quickly as the redhead had come, she was gone. He merely sighed and his guest walked into the room with a bowl of chocolaty cereal in his hands.

"I heard voices. Is there someone else here?" He cocked his head of russet-colored hair in a questioning manner and Nigel shook his head.

"Sorry, Gary. I _would _have introduced you to my niece, Cam, but she came and left so fast…"

The teen nodded in understanding and took a seat on the springy couch. Next to him, an umbreon hovered over a dual-colored egg in a protective stance. "That's fine. I'll just meet her later, right?"

"Yeah. I have a feeling you two will get along really well." There was a knowing smirk on the man's face, causing Gary to raise an eyebrow, but said nothing.


	3. Gym Battle Part 1

**Chapter 3: Gym Battle Part 1**

After Cam received her coins, she said her farewells to Mr. Game and she left the Game Corner. She would definitely go back to play the slots later, but right now, she had to go to the gym.

Even though it was warm outside, she snuggled into the fuzz of her jacket while tightening her grip on her coin box. She didn't want to lug it around everywhere – it was getting rather heavy. She thought for a moment before calling out her abra.

"Hey, Syke. Do me a favor? Teleport to Uncle Nigel's and put this coin case away. And keep away from Noah and Fury; they're a bad influence and I don't want to put up with any pranks today. I'll be in the gym, okay?"

The pokemon nodded and grabbed the box, disappearing in a purplish aura of energy. Cam shivered. She had tried teleporting with Syke before, but it was the weirdest thing ever and she would never do it again for reasons left unsaid. She opened the gym door and made her way inside.

Whitney, the pink-haired gym leader, was standing on one end of the field and Samantha was standing at the other as a miltank and a persian faced off. Carrie and Cathy looked to be the referees and Victoria, a blue-haired beauty, sat on the bench and eyed her nails in distress.

"Milly, finish this with rollout!" Whitney shouted happily. The cow-like pokemon ran forward and jumped into a series of somersaults, picking up speed as it headed for Persian.

"Dodge!" Samantha yelled. Persian jumped to the side, but once Miltank had passed, it turned around and managed to hit its target.

Cathy and Carrie joined hands and brought them above their heads. "Persian is unable to battle! Victory goes to Whitney!"

The pinkette leapt for joy and rushed onto the field to glomp her miltank. "We did it, Milly! We did it!"

Cam found this a good time as she stepped out into the light and walked to the field. "Looks like your rollout is as good as ever," she commented and the girls turned to her in surprise.

"Cammy!" Whitney lunged for Cam, who stumbled back and fell on the ground with the sudden weight.

"Hey, easy kid. I'm not going anywhere."

Miltank mooed happily in greeting and Victoria waved from her spot on the bench. "Girl, we have so much to catch up on!"

Samantha returned her pokemon and put her hands on her hips, a smile playing at her lips. "So do you want to start training right off the bat?"

Cam was about to respond with an enthusiastic yes before Whitney cut in. "No way! Talking first, training later," she turned to the redhead with the biggest smile. "Samantha told me you'd be stopping by today, I couldn't believe it. I'm so happy you're here!" she took her hand and dragged her to the bench as the other girls followed. Cam was trying to hide the reluctance that she knew she was showing. She was more accustomed to walking the walk instead of talking the talk – she was really looking forward to battling someone.

After a plethora of mindless conversation and girly talk, Cam was actually enjoying herself. It's been a while since she had hung out with friends, and it was a nice change from being all alone in Dewford.

They were in the middle of discussing the Elite Four trainers when one of lasses gasped. Cam assumed her to be Cathy, since her voice was more high-pitched than Carrie's. "Whitney, tell her about what happened the other day!"

At first, the said girl wasn't sure what she was talking about, but caught on a few seconds later and turned to Cam with a mixture of distress and excitement. "Oh, right. This really strong trainer tried to steal my pokemon. He was wearing Team Rocket clothes!"

Cam nodded in response. "My uncle said something about that. What happened, anyway?"

Whitney went into an immense amount of detail to describe the event. Cam bobbed her head at the main points, being the things that her uncle told her. The man in the Team Rocket uniform had an arcanine and a pigeot, and Whitney's pokemon were both knocked out (she only had her miltank and clefable). Just when things were about to take a turn for the worse, a guy showed up and saved the day with a huge pokemon he called 'Electivire.' It was an electric-type (at which Cam grimaced) that was pretty powerful, but the battle was still rough. It was two against one and with Pigeot's gusts and Arcanine's fire blasts, the electivire was getting pretty worn out. He managed to knock them out with a powerful Thunder before collapsing and the guy rushed to the Pokemon Center with Whitney after the grunt ran for the hills. She didn't find out much about her savior though since he left right after he dropped off his pokemon.

When the pinkette finished, she smiled a dreamy smile. "He was _so _cute, too! I must've seen him from somewhere before, he has such a familiar face. I wonder if that means we're soul mates! I can picture it now…"

Cam sweat dropped at the younger girl and cut in before she could ramble about her fantasies. "How could that Rocket guy be so strong? And why did he have a pigeot and an arcanine instead of a few zubat or grimer? He doesn't sound like he's low rank."

Whitney shrugged. "Beats me. I'm just glad my pokemon weren't stolen! I'd be so lost without my Milly." Her miltank mooed and nudged the pinkette's head affectionately with her nose. She giggled in response and returned her pokemon as she stood to stretch her limbs. "I should get going. I have an interview at the radio station in a half hour – hey, what's that?"

Something peering out from under Cam's clothing had caught her eye and Cam followed her gaze to the yin-yang symbol. "Oh, this thing? I found it yesterday when I was walking out of the train station."

The pinkette motioned for her to hold it out to see clearly and when she did, Whitney's eyes narrowed.

"Something wrong, Whitney?"

She shook her head in reply. "No, I guess not."

Cam tilted her head and eyed the pendant with a skewed expression, but shrugged afterwards. She might have thought it looked familiar; it probably belonged to a previous challenger.

"I'd get rid of it." Samantha waved her hand as her disapproving gaze locked on the necklace. "It's plain and boring. Who would walk around wearing something like that?"

"I think it looks nice…"

"But it doesn't even match your clothing! Green and orange? I don't think so."

Cam shrugged and closed her jacket to conceal it. "Better?"

"Much."

Whitney cracked a grin at the two before jogging to the door. "I should really get going, now. See ya later!"

Before she could open the door, someone had already opened it from the other side. It was a scruffy purple-haired trainer, and from all of his traveling gear one could easily guess that he was a pokemon trainer.

His voice was low and hoarse as he addressed the girl. "Are you the gym leader?"

Whitney nodded with curious eyes. "That's me. Need something?"

"I'm looking for a battle."

Her features transitioned to an apologetic stare. "Sorry, I can't battle anyone right now. I have an interview to go to."

He grunted and crossed his arms. "You can't spare two minutes?"

Whitney's mouth opened slightly in surprise and quickly sent a glare at the man. "You seriously think it's going to be _that _easy to beat me?"

This earned a snort from the trainer. "This is a normal-type gym, right? I can take you on in my sleep and still end up with a badge."

Her glare intensified and she was about to offer a rebuttal, but Cam had advanced to the man and extended her arm, pointing a threatening finger at him. "You know what, Mr.? I don't like your attitude. Whitney has somewhere to be, and you're holding her up."

He raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "Too bad. She's a gym leader, so she has to accept my challenge."

"I'll accept it later," Whitney argued as she pushed passed him. "You're making me late."

"Hold it." He grabbed her arm roughly and the girl let out a sound of astonishment.

"Let me go!"

"Not until I get my gym battle. I don't have time to sit around and wait for you all day!"

"That's enough."

The three turned to Samantha who flicked her blond hair behind her shoulders confidently. "If you're so set on being productive, then fight me."

Whitney felt his hand loosen and slide off her arm. "Fine. I need a warm-up anyway."

Whitney sent a worried glance at Samantha and the latter nodded in her direction, indicating that it was okay for her to leave. The younger girl still looked unsure, but took one last look at the rude challenger before making her exit.

As he passed the girls, he said, "My name is Greg. Remember it when you lose." He made his way to the field and Samantha glared at him the whole way.

"Are you sure, Samantha?" Cathy appeared from behind Cam with a questioning face. Carrie showed herself on Cam's other side, mirroring her almost-twin's expression.

"Your persian just fainted."

Samantha merely smiled in determination. "This guy's all talk – I can just feel it. My persian may be tired from my battle with Whitney, but I still have a few meowth. As far as I'm concerned, that's all I need to wipe the floors with him."

She headed for the field with her head held high and a pokeball in hand. There was something about the way she walked that showed just how much battling experience she had over the last few years, and winning against her wouldn't be easy.

Nevertheless, Cam swallowed her anger at Greg and stared intently at Samantha. She had definitely gotten stronger since Cam had beaten her a few months ago, but was it enough? If someone was this confident in his abilities, shouldn't he have some reason to think the way that he does?

"I don't know…" Cathy said uncertainly. She was practically radiating worry, but Carrie seemed fine.

Instead, the short brunette resisted the urge to roll her eyes and said to Cam, "He's _that _kind of pesky challenger, so we'll try to hold him off until Whitney comes back, if he's even that strong. But just in case...are you up for a battle?"

Cam nodded, her burning anger returning. "You bet. I have Jabari on me right now, but I sent my abra home and he hasn't come back yet. Hold this guy off until I get here, okay?" she didn't wait for a response and she bolted out the door.

When she arrived at the mundane house she currently called home, she surveyed the empty living room. "Syke!" she called urgently. She scoured the living room, but to no avail. "Syke, where are you? If you're getting into something you shouldn't, I'll take away your teleporting privileges!" she warned, but the psychic still had yet to come out. This was something to worry about.

In the next room, Abigail was sprawled out lazily on the kitchen floor, but came to attention at the constant shouts. Cam noticed this and entered the kitchen. "Abigail, have you seen Syke?"

A flicker of movement caught her eye and Cam looked to the doorway to see her abra standing with his usual sleepy eyes. She beamed and ran up to him. "There you are! Where were you? Ah, never mind. Come on, we've got a-"

Whatever she was about to say withered away into silence as she took in the figure that had just entered the doorway behind Syke. Spiky brown hair, black eyes, black shirt, blue jeans, and a confused look on his face. Her heart thudded in her chest as soon as she recognized who it was and inhaled as much air as she could before letting out all of her frustration and bewilderment in a nice loud scream.

Everyone present, human and pokemon, flinched at the noise and covered their ears until the earsplitting screech subsided, leaving a very hoarse Cam screaming for Nigel.

"Calm down for a second, Cam-"

"You even know my _name_?" she spat at the guy with a horrified face.

"Your uncle told me."

"I can't believe this! What are you doing in my house?"

Nigel passed by the guy at this moment, making his way to the fridge and taking a small finger out of his now internally damaged ear. "Oh. Hi, Cam. I see you've met Gary."

"What is this doing in our house?" she nearly screamed, completely ignoring the man's obvious statement.

"You mean _my _house," he corrected. "He's been here since last night."

"He _slept _here? Why didn't you say anything?"

The raven-haired man sighed. "Well that video call yesterday was from Professor Oak and he asked if I could examine the egg Gary had been carrying around for a while due to a few abnormalities. I was going to tell you after you got back from searching for your aron, but you were out longer than I instructed. During that time, Gary here showed up, I got him settled, and I crashed before you finally decided to come home. Not to mention you zipped out of here so early this morning I never got to say anything."

Cam would have protested and mentioned something about his starter, Jiles, but her mind was lingering on something else. "Why would you let him sleep here, though? The Pokemon Center has rooms that are-"

"Currently full," Nigel finished for her, "and I figured since he's here for me anyway, I might as well make it easier for everybody and let him stay for a bit. You know I have spare rooms in the back, and I like having company."

"But why would Professor Oak-"

"Calm down and let me finish, will you? This boy is the world renowned Gary Oak, Samuel Oak's grandson."

Cam's mouth went agape as her eyes flickered back to the supposedly famous teen. There was no way that someone as rude as him could be related to the most respected professor on the planet. No way. "That's…that's impossible!"

"Why? You know more than anybody about the kind of people I work for. This shouldn't be a surprise to you," her uncle stated simply as he munched on some baby carrots.

"It's not that, it's just… He looks so…"

"Strong? Awesome? Hot?" Gary offered with a smirk. If one would look closer, a shimmer of hope could be seen in his eyes, but Cam was oblivious to this.

"…dull."

Nigel coughed lightly and suppressed a few chuckles behind his hand after seeing Gary's expression.

"Wait…I'm what now? Dull?"

"Come on, you're the grandson of a famous professor! You can't even _dress _the part? No lab coat-"

"It'll get in the way when I travel."

"-no glasses-"

"I can see perfectly fine."

"-just plain jeans and a black t-shirt! Your hair is a mess-"

"My hair is _gorgeous-_"

"-and you don't even look equipped to travel." She turned to her uncle. "I bet you anything this kid doesn't have any pokemon on him, let alone anything impressive!"

Gary seemed to take offense to this and reached into his jeans pocket.

An exclamation point appeared above Nigel's head when Cam began to take a battle stance and reach for a pokeball on her waist. Immediately sensing the danger, he casually stepped forward and held his hands out in front of the two quarreling trainers. "I don't want a battle in my kitchen, guys. If you're going to do this, take it outside."

Cam flashed the man a frustrated glare. He was always interfering, but this time, it was a good thing he did as Cam suddenly remembered where she needed to be. "I don't have time for this, anyway! I have a real battle to go to." Syke was still in the doorway, so she returned him and dashed to the door.

"With who?" Nigel called inquisitively.

"Some guy at the gym!"

Nigel sighed as the door slammed shut. He turned to Gary and gave a halfhearted smile. "Sorry about that. She's just so full of energy, sometimes she has to take it out on someone, ya know?" He held his hands up and shrugged in a gesture for him not to worry about it, but it didn't seem to help. Gary's frown remained firmly in place, still seething over the niece's comment.

…

The road to her destination was torturous. The only tortures Cam experienced however were the constant replays of the last few events running like a movie in her mind. Who the hell did that Gary guy think he was? Sure, he was the grandson of a famous professor, but who cares? He just waltzed in her home unexpectedly and spent the night without her knowing. That house was _her _escape. It was perfect, no matter how simple it was. And he _invaded _the one place she could call home. After everything that happened, she deduced that he was an inconsiderate, uncaring, egotistical jerk and they would _never _get along.

And to think this powerful hatred came to be all because he called her a razz head.

Cam slowed to a stop in front of the gym building's door and placed her hands on her knees. "I've…been running around…all day…" she informed herself between breaths. "I really need…to get more exercise…"

When she entered, her eyes widened at the scene before her. The challenger, Greg, had a graveler that didn't seem tired at all, completely unlike the sentret that it faced off against. The poor pokemon looked like she was going to vomit.

Victoria held her fingers above the sentret's ball on her waist, ready to withdraw in the event that her pokemon couldn't handle any more. That time was nearing, and things looked rather glum on the battlefield. Her pokemon stumbled slightly, but stood her ground.

The beauty thought for a moment more before grabbing her ball and calling back Sentret. "That's all she can take right now. You win."

Greg smirked. "Weak," he spat. "All of you are pathetically weak. Can't I get a _real _challenge?"

"You want a real challenge? You got one, buddy!"

He turned his head and laughed at the girl who had spoken. Cam narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "What?"

"You look weaker than the rest of 'em. You're not even worth it."

"Excuse you? I'll have you know I trained in Dragon's Den!"

The rest of the girls in the gym internally groaned. After all this time, she was still using that threat.

Greg seemed to get a kick out of this and gestured to the empty box on the other side of the field. "Good. A worthy opponent."

Cam gulped and slowly walked to her designated area. She had never gotten that response before, but then again, she had always said this after she won a battle. If this guy was strong enough to defeat Samantha and Victoria (and possibly the lasses due to the defeated looks on their faces) consecutively and still have enough energy to keep going, he was the real deal. She already knew what the result was going to be, but she shook away the thought. She wasn't prepared to lose to a guy like _that_.

"Oh, and by the way," Greg raised his eyebrows as a notion for Cam to continue. "My name is Cam. Remember it when you lose," she quoted as she mirrored his sneer.

The two younger girls, one dressed in blue and the other in black, stood at the sidelines, directly in the middle of the two battlers. Carrie was the first to speak.

"Trainers Cam and Greg, this is a single battle!"

"Each trainer may use two pokemon!"

Greg's features distorted. "Two? Why not three?"

Cam felt a growl rumble from her chest. "Because I only have two pokemon…"

"Hah! Some trainer you are," he jeered as more of his purple bangs fell into his eyes. She hated to admit it, but he was quite intimidating.

"Quit talking!" Cam's hand flew to her belt and called out her abra.

"Graveler, stay on the field. We can take this on easy." Greg had to stifle more of his laughter when he saw that a puny abra was about to go head-to-head with his almighty rock pokemon, but he had to stay in the zone, even if it was the easiest thing in the world for him. It was a battle, after all.

The referees took a step back. "Begin!"

"Graveler, magnitude."

He did as he was told and jumped as high as he could, landing and causing the entire building to shake. If the field wasn't destroyed enough before, it most certainly was now. Cam noticed that he was capable of doing more, but was only doing enough to tear up the field. And from all of the league championships she saw, this was a common way for a rock-type to have the advantage.

She sighed when she saw tiny Syke attempting to climb over a huge chunk of earth so he could see his opponent. "Ignore the rocks – teleport!" Syke glowed purple and vanished.

An eerie silence fell on the gym as several pairs of eyes scanned for the psychic pokemon.

"Hey! Your pokemon has to remain on the battlefield!" Greg protested with furrowed eyebrows.

"Never said he left." Cam smiled when she saw that he was caught off guard. She threw a hand in the hair. "Syke, dive in and use shadow ball."

Greg and Graveler looked to the ceiling, expecting an aerial attack from the way she was commanding her pokemon, but instead the abra came from the side. Syke had held his shadow ball until he was within the three foot radius his trainer had taught him and released it before teleporting to a safer distance. Graveler took the hit pretty hard, but was back on his feet and clenching his four rock-hard fists in anger.

"Get to a suitable area and use rock blast," he ordered. Graveler raced to the corner of the field and picked up a few rocks with his hands, throwing them at a rapid speed.

"Teleport."

Once again, Syke emitted a light purple and disappeared, getting a little bit closer with every teleport and narrowly dodging the rocks.

"Hit him already!" Greg yelled in frustration, causing Graveler to throw harder, but not faster. Cam could tell he was getting impatient.

"Syke, throw an energy ball."

The abra threw the ball of green – a grass-type move – but the target didn't seem to be affected as much as he should have. His arms had wrapped themselves around him like some sort of barrier.

Greg smiled slyly. "That's his defense curl. It comes in handy." He directed at his redheaded foe, who glared in return.

"Why the hell are you telling me your moves? We're competing."

"True, but it already seems like I'm going to be the victor. Your abra is pretty worn out even though I didn't hit him yet, and my graveler still has some juice left. Besides, with the little amount of skill you have, you need all the help you can get."

Cam gritted her teeth and she could have sworn she started seeing red. "Syke, keep using energy ball. He can't keep this up!"

The back door to the gym opened and a small portion of the floor lit up due to natural light, but it closed again. No one noticed a man dressed comfortably in a sweater and black jeans enter with another young trainer. They walked alongside the bleachers and scaled up the stairs from the side, finding and taking seats in the end section at mid-height.

"A nice view from up here and no one spotted us," Nigel declared proudly.

"Professor Redfern-"

"Really, Gary. Call me Nigel."

"Right, sorry. I forgot. Why are we sneaking around again?"

Nigel chuckled. "Cam gets easily distracted, and the last thing I want is for her to trip up in battle."

Gary nodded and turned his gaze on Cam. She looked really angry…almost as angry as when he called her a razz head. He smiled a bit, finding amusement in the girl's sore spots. Apparently, her hair was one of them.

"Keep using energy ball like that and you'll lose!" Greg taunted.

Cam lowered her head and tried to breathe evenly. "Tell me something I don't know, jackass…" she mumbled as she regained some tranquility. She raised her head and nearly face-planted when she saw Syke had ceased his energy balls (due to fatigue) and started to scratch the hardened pokemon with his dull claws.

"Stop messing around, Syke! You don't even _know _the move scratch." Syke obeyed and teleported a few feet in front of his trainer, still facing his newfound enemy. "Sorry about that, though. I kinda lost it for a minute, but I'm back, and I know you can keep going!" she fist pumped, which seemed to be enough motivation for her pokemon. "This graveler seems dead-set on using defense curl and he can't stay in there forever."

They waited and Graveler finally unrolled himself, looking more able to handle physical attacks.

"If that's the best you can do, I feel sorry for your pokemon. Graveler, tackle!"

"Think you can muster a shadow ball?" Cam asked, but she didn't need a reply. Syke raced forward and jumped above Graveler as he barreled past. He gathered a small ball of black energy in his hands and shot it at the pokemon's back in midair, causing Graveler to stumble and fall.

"Shadow ball?" Gary wondered aloud.

Nigel smiled and pointed at himself. "Since abra can only learn teleport naturally, I used a few technical machines on him to give him some variety in battle. It was at Cam's request, of course."

The young trainer nodded and returned his attention to the pokemon. He noticed a glint in Cam's eyes and wondered what she was going to do next.

"Ready, Syke? Just like we practiced."

Aside from Cam and her pokemon, no one knew what she was doing. Syke spread his arms out as far as he could and shut his eyes tighter than normal like he was concentrating. In one hand, a shadow ball started to form. In another, an energy ball vibrated with a light green color.

"No way…" Gary breathed in utter disbelief. "I've seen pokemon combine moves, but how can a psychic pokemon have enough power to perform two attacks at once?"

Nigel crossed his arms and shook his head. "It's not power. It's concentration and skill. No…the one thing Cam lacks is experience, thus, lacks power."

"How is she able to hold her own against a skilled trainer like him, then?"

By this time, Syke had hit the graveler with both the shadow and energy balls, causing major damage.

"Damn it… Rock blast!"

"Teleport."

Nigel took in Syke's dashing form as he sprinted every time he grew tired from teleporting. "Cam doesn't get to train her pokemon as often as she wants, but when she does, power isn't her main focus. Her style is more of the hit-and-run kind. She builds up speed and stamina so she can deliver as many attacks as she can and do enough damage to knock out her opponent over a longer period of time. She also likes to add some flair to her attacks so they're not as predictable, as you've just seen. These points give her advantages of course, but weighed against experienced pokemon and you've got yourself a tough battle."

"Rock polish."

"Keep teleporting, build up your strength!"

The man focused intently on Cam's adversary. "She's in a situation where she can't exactly tough up her pokemon 24/7, so this style is her only option."

Gary wondered what situation could render her incapable of training her pokemon, but it wasn't any of his business. And from the way Nigel was talking, he wasn't going to tell Gary even if he asked.

Graveler looked pretty worn out, as did Syke, and the latter only got hit twice. Cam internally sighed. She should have let Syke and Jabari get used to the open air so they would be able to fire off attacks longer, but now she was here, going up against this strong bratty trainer and she wasn't even prepared. "Finish it! Shadow ball!"

Syke dipped his head and raced forward, gathering energy in his hands.

"Graveler, meet him head-on."

Cam's eyes widened as confusion took over her confidence. "What…?"

Before she could tell Syke to teleport away, Greg had already given the order.

"Selfdestruct."

Graveler didn't have very much health left, so the explosion wasn't that big. Though, Syke still got the worst of it because of the close proximity. While Graveler collapsed, Syke was sent flying. He landed painfully on the side of a rock and slid to the ground, unmoving.

"Abra and Graveler are unable to battle!" Cathy announced.

Carrie followed with, "Please choose your next pokemon!"

"Syke!" Cam returned him quickly and examined his figure inside the ball worriedly. He seemed to be okay for the most part – winded, but still unable to fight. "Good job, out there. Especially with that combo attack: really nice." She tapped the red surface of the ball with her index finger affectionately and the pokemon inside seemed to be smiling back at her.

"Cut the crap and get on with it!" yelled Greg. He had already returned the graveler and was tossing another pokeball in his hand.

Cam's eyes narrowed as she put Syke on her belt, retrieving Jabari's ball in another swift motion.

"Go, Donphan!" A three-foot elephant came out of the ball in a white light. His tusks looked sharp…a little _too _sharp, Cam noticed. He had a murderous glint in his eyes, and Cam didn't like it at all. She wondered if her dratini would be up for it.

"Let's go, Jabari!" She threw the ball with as much force as she could, and out came her dratini. His tail slid back and forth as he tried to contain his excitement.

Cathy fidgeted on the sidelines, not liking the odds. Carrie stepped forward and began the battle herself, seeing as how Cathy was too interested in her nervous twiddling fingers.

"Rollout."

Gary noticed his companion smiling as Greg told his pokemon the attack. "Nigel?"

Nigel remained focused Greg, but explained his relief to Gary. "The gym leader here is Whitney, specializing in normal-type pokemon. Her miltank's prized move is rollout, and Cam had won a battle against her and earned the Plain Badge."

"Oh…" Gary nodded in understanding. Cam had encountered something like this before, so she was prepared.

"Out of the way." Jabari flashed to the other side of the field, and Donphan turned just before he barreled into Cam.

Nigel had to release the breath he was holding as he turned. This battle was held in a gym, so things were more civilized. But in real life out on the road, battling could be dangerous, which was the main reason why Cam wasn't allowed to travel.

"Twister."

Jabari flung his tail sideways and a strong wind hit the ground just before Donphan, and he was flung up in the air a bit, but otherwise he was unfazed.

Cam gasped. What was _supposed _to happen was that her target would lose his balance and offer an opening. It worked for Miltank, so why not Donphan?

Jabari was hit with the first rollout, and it wasn't pretty. He landed with a _thud _and the dragon had trouble lifting his head. Cam shifted on the spot, wondering what she could do. He never took attacks well, which was why Cam had always worked on his agility.

"I got too cocky…" she mumbled to herself. The donphan was coming back, and he was much faster than before. "Keep dodging!" Jabari finally managed to lift his head and shook it from side to side violently to snap himself out of his painful trance. His body was sore, but he was still able to slide back and forth with bursts of agility, missing the rollouts that were slowly getting faster. Donphan seemed to be rolling in circles, Jabari evading him every time.

Nigel was at the edge of his seat now as worry replaced his smile. He was really into it throughout the entire battle, having to bite back yells from time to time – probably to warn Cam of certain abilities and attacks that she was more than likely unaware of. That would only be a distraction for the trainers however, so he kept his mouth shut.

As Nigel remained frozen with anxiety, Gary tilted his head, wondering if that twister attack was all Cam had up her sleeve against a rollout. He could think of tons of things he could do, but then again, he had a wide variety of pokemon and moves to choose from. Maybe he could give her some pointers. Had not been for the current situation, he would have smiled at the scenario that played out in his mind. The end result would probably be her exploding with the rage of a gyarados, going off about how she can handle her pokemon herself. He didn't know her that well as he had only met her yesterday, but the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to know her limits.

"Looks like this match is over already." Greg's eyes narrowed almost in an evil way as his body visibly relaxed. The last match with the abra was long forgotten, and all he could see now was the distraught expression on the girl's face. He grew wary when her eyes lit up with an idea. "What now?" he whispered as Cam sprang into action.

"Jabari, use agility and get back here."

With what little strength the pokemon had left, the dratini barely managed to avoid being flattened like a pancake and appeared in front of Cam. His eyes were locked in on Donphan, but his fins twitched as a signal for Cam to give instructions.

"I'm going to try something. But it's crucial that you do _what _I say and _when _I say it. Got it?"

Jabari hesitated for a moment, knowing the tone she was using with him. He was aware that Cam was planning to do something he clearly wouldn't agree with, but nevertheless, he nodded.

As Donphan got closer, Cam shifted again. Jabari tensed, sensing that the time was approaching.

"Agility!"

Jabari dashed out of the way, leaving Cam out in the open for Donphan to roll over.

A few of the gym trainers gasped, noticing that she didn't budge as the pokemon continued on his path. Nigel gripped his knees until his knuckles turned white, and even Gary was slightly worried. "What the hell is she…?" he started to ask, but from the way Nigel was acting, he didn't know either.

Greg's eyebrows rose when he finally noticed the danger. There was no time to turn, and no time to recall him. "Donphan, stop!"

Cam smirked at the order. The elephant obeyed immediately, but uncurling himself wasn't going to be enough. The momentum of the rollout had him flying forward and his feet had no ground whatsoever to slow him down.

She heard a familiar voice yell, "Get out of the way!" and she didn't need to be told twice. The girl jumped to the side and missed his incredibly sharp tusk by just a hair.

"Dragonbreath!"

Jabari flashed in front of the flying Donphan and unleashed the most powerful dragonbreath he was capable of withholding. It seemed to be enough since Donphan was thrown back from the force. Jabari slithered back onto the field with a triumphant posture.

Nigel blinked a few times and sat back down. He was winded, but Gary got over the shock faster than he did.

"Is she _insane_? That could've killed her!" The teen momentarily forgot who he was talking to, but he didn't care at this point. Not even back in the day when _he _began his journey was he ever that _stupid_. That stunt was worse than what Ash would have done, and that's saying something. A part of him admired her for it, though. She pulled it off and broke Donphan's rollout streak.

Nigel stayed quiet. Obviously, Cam gave him quite the scare and Gary figured that it might take him a few minutes to fully recover.

As this went on, the battle continued. "Rollout and slam."

Donphan began to roll in midair and as soon as he hit the ground, he shot forward. Just like last time, he uncurled himself, but he was able to touch the ground to keep himself from rolling out of control. His hind legs kicked against the floor to straighten himself out and he gained a good amount of speed before leaping into the air for a slam attack.

"Jabari, move!"

Unfortunately, Jabari was still out of breath from his last attack and didn't budge as Donphan crushed him. Cam stiffened as dust kicked up from the impact. It couldn't possibly have done that much harm, could it? Most pokemon land on their sides when using slam, but Donphan landed on his stomach.

After a few agonizing seconds, the dust clouds faded to reveal Donphan scratching at the earth and an unconscious Jabari in front of him. The elephant lifted up his trunk and cried out his name victoriously while Greg took on a visual of pride and arrogance.

"Jabari?" Cam curled her fingers and tapped them together lightly in wonder and waited for him to slither back to her, radiating happiness after another battle they had won. But the pokemon remained on the ground, and she lost. It had only been a few minutes – if that – and she lost.

Carrie moved a stray piece of short hair behind her ear sadly and moved forward. "Dratini is unable to go on! Victory goes to-"

"Wait."

Carrie turned to Cam, the one who had spoken. "What is it?"

The trainer recalled Jabari and addressed Greg. "You said you wanted a three-on-three, right?"

The man loosened the blue bandana he wore around his neck and placed his hand in his pocket. "Yeah, but you said you only had two."

"What if I told you I had three pokemon? Would you still want to keep going?"

Nigel furrowed his eyebrows and whispered to himself more than anyone, "She only has two… What is she doing?" Gary heard, but tried harder to hear what was going on down below.

Greg smiled wickedly and responded, "So I can kick your ass again? Yeah, I'm all for it."

"You want…an extension?" Carrie asked Cam and the latter nodded, her eyes trained on Donphan. The referee turned to Greg, who mimicked Cam's nod. "U-Um…okay. The fight is extended! The rules are now three-on-three, continuing from the last battle!"

Cam reached into her pouch and took out another pokeball, scrutinizing whatever was inside. She whispered something to it, though no one heard. She lifted her head and said nothing as she tossed the ball to the field.

As soon as Nigel saw the outline of the light that escaped the ball, surprise took over more than anger would have. "She didn't…"

Sleek blue fur, a yellow underbelly, and a temper that rivaled even Cam's.

"Rakaaaaaa!" a hunched typhlosion roared menacingly. He took a battle stance as Cam's words echoed through his mind.

"_Wreck him, Jiles."_


	4. Gym Battle Part 2

**It's a long gym battle. Bare with me, here. Thanks to those that are reviewing and favoriting! Enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you think. **

**Chapter 4: Gym Battle Part 2**

The fire-type glared at the enemy with a piercing gaze, daring him to move. Donphan continued to dig at the earth with his forefoot and waited for the referee's call. It was an intense stare-down, and neither was giving in.

Cathy took the other brunette's place and shouted, "Begin!"

Both trainers tensed, waiting for the other to make a move. The pokemon were still locked in their staring contest, and the trainers seemed to start one up as well.

"Go ahead," Cam told him, but Greg shook his head and smirked.

"Ladies first."

"Fine by me." She threw her hand forward and pointed at Donphan dramatically. "Jiles, fire blast!"

The typhlosion however did not move. He was too busy sizing up the three-foot elephant and he stood up straighter to show that he was taller and more powerful. Donphan blinked and lifted his trunk. To Cam, it almost seemed like he was smirking, just like his trainer…

"Do…Donphan." He spoke his name in a haunting tone: the pokemon language that only Jiles could understand. Whatever he had said ticked him off and Jiles roared, zipping forward in a quick attack.

Cam's jaw dropped at her borrowed pokemon before stomping her foot. "I didn't say that! I said fire blast!"

Nigel slapped a hand over his face and groaned. "I can't watch this."

"So…that's not her typhlosion?"

"No, Gary. That's _my _typhlosion. How she managed to snag his ball from right under my nose, I'll never know, but I'd have to say that Jiles was the worst pokemon she could ever choose to fight with."

The spiky-haired teen eyed the raging beast that charged after Donphan, completely ignoring orders. "They're out of sync, all right."

"Of course they are! They're always fighting, and Jiles isn't in a very good mood today. He's too strong for her to command, and he doesn't see her as a worthy master at all. She could have borrowed my absol if she wanted… At least Abigail would be willing to listen to her."

"Magnitude," Greg said coolly. Donphan jumped and landed, causing the ground to shake and Jiles to lose his footing. "Horn attack." The elephant lunged forward as his tusks glistened: no doubt they were getting sharper. Jiles barely missed the attack, but got the force of the side of a tusk. The fire-type was knocked back onto the ground while Cam gritted her teeth impatiently.

"You see? That'swhat happens when you don't listen to me. Do you _want_ to lose?" She balled up her fists and the gym trainers heard panic in her voice. This wasn't good.

Jiles turned to Cam to send a glare, but his gaze shifted to the stands when he recognized a head of black tangled hair. It was his _real _trainer, watching him from afar. It was then that he realized where he was. This was a gym of some sorts. Was this the gym leader he was facing off against?

"Just wrap it up, Donphan. He's not even worth toying with." Greg waved a hand, signaling for his pokemon to do what he wanted. Donphan's eyes narrowed and his lips pulled into a maniac smile as his body charged with energy, enough to make his long ears vibrate.

"Don…phan!" He headed straight for the typhlosion and lifted his trunk to reveal lightning sparks flare from his teeth.

This was it. Everyone was watching him, even his trainer. Jiles was overcome with the urge to impress, and he knew even better than Nigel did: he could take this Donphan to Kanto and back.

"Rakaaaa!" was his battle cry as he leapt to the side, dodging his thunder fang.

Cam hummed to herself in thought, wondering what attacks would work against Donphan. She assumed that he was a ground-type from the moves he was using, which meant that he had the upper hand.

She nodded in certainty. Jiles was so powerful, she probably wouldn't need to come up with something tactical to beat the arrogant challenger, and she was perfectly fine with relying on firepower alone.

"Use flamethrower and retreat with quick attack."

His ears twitched, but his focus remained on Donphan, who was retreating to the other side of the field with his rollout. Donphan uncurled himself and stood his ground, and Jiles saw his chance. He dove forward as flames surrounded his body. He was moving as if it was a rollout attack, but the flames implied otherwise.

Cam wrinkled her small nose and let out a noise of frustration. She didn't say flame wheel!

Donphan easily dodged the attack with his infamous rollout and turned around. As soon as the flames dispersed from Jiles, he was on all fours, gathering his energy for more firepower. It wasn't until Donphan hit him in the side did he realize how close the elephant had gotten during his own attack. He was thrown into the air and he fell on his back, causing him to yelp in pain.

"If you'd listen to what I'm telling you, you wouldn't get hit!" Cam screamed at the pokemon, a vein in her head nearly exploding.

Greg crossed his arms with an air of vanity. "Real nice," he said sarcastically as he surveyed Jiles with a critical eye.

The creature in turn growled, but he made no move to stand up. He stared at the ceiling, deep in thought.

"Get up! He's coming back!"

Jiles came to attention and rolled over, sprinting out of the way just in time. He huffed angrily and faced his attacker to bare his fangs.

"Listen to me, Jiles. We need to work together as a team. That's what a battle is all about!"

He listened to Cam's words halfheartedly, but he knew she was right. He was never going to win this way, but was it really okay to rely on an airhead like Cam?

The typhlosion jumped over Donphan as he rolled passed.

"This guy is a nobody. He thinks he's so much better than us to the point where he's not even giving orders anymore!"

This did the trick. Jiles's dark eyes flashed to his opponent and finally took notice of his silent demeanor. Did he seriously think he could win that easily? Anger pulsed through his body as flames sprouted from his back. He turned around to eye Donphan dangerously. He wasn't going to lose to an _elephant_.

"So let's show him what a horrible mistake that was!"

"_Kaaaaaaaaaaa!_" he shrieked as he raced forward, even angrier than he was before.

"Flamethrower!"

Donphan rolled out of the way easily, bouncing off a few rocks every once in a while like he was in a pinball machine. Jiles shot long lines of fire, but missed every time. Cam blew a few strands of red hair out of her face and straightened up a bit, relieved that the typhlosion was having a change of heart. And now that she changed his mindset, she needed to change hers.

"I have to calm down…" Cam whispered, closing her eyes. "Come on, Camellia. Focus… What do you have to do to get at least _one _hit?"

Donphan's rolling form started to spark, indicating he was going in for another thunder fang. "I can't do much damage if he keeps using that damn attack…" Instead of instructing the fire-type, Cam just watched. Jiles turned around and looked at her in confusion, wondering why she wasn't using the privilege of ordering him after he clearly just gave it to her. Before he could get agitated, Donphan's sparking fangs were a little too close to Jiles' face for his own comfort, and his instincts kicked in. The flamethrower he shot from his mouth lit up the entire field as the pokemon was knocked back a safe distance.

Cam gasped when she was hit with an epiphany. "That's it. Your style of battling is different from mine." She didn't know why it took her this long to realize that she wasn't the one to train Jiles, her uncle was. And he trained each of his pokemon differently depending on its own strengths and weaknesses. Her eyes lit up with a newfound determination and a grin took over her face.

Greg obviously didn't hear her since he raised an eyebrow and asked, "What are you all smiley about? You hit him. Big deal."

In fact, Donphan had been hurt pretty badly from that attack. His leg was a tad charred, meaning he was burned. He limped slightly, but it was hard to see. Not only that, but Jabari's dragonbreath contributed to the overall damage.

A plan began to formulate in Cam's mind. She was pretty confident in what she was about to do. "Get ready. Power up!"

His body grew rigid and his fur bristled with the energy that coursed through his body. His eyes took on an even redder tint and his small claws dug into the ground.

Nigel visibly relaxed in his seat as the anxiety ebbed away and once again, not going unnoticed by Gary. For once, he chose not to ask. He knew he would find out soon enough.

Donphan, for the hundredth time, rolled in for a critical hit. Jiles stood his ground, unfazed by his supposed doom.

"A little bit closer…" Cam muttered. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face and her heart pounded so hard in her chest she could feel it in her feet.

Samantha and Victoria didn't appear to be breathing. Their hands were covering their mouths, unable to shield their eyes out of curiosity. Cathy and Carrie were as equally nervous – Cathy especially. The brunette leaned into Carrie and whispered frightfully, "If he doesn't move soon-"

Cam abruptly dipped her head and the strands that she repeatedly blew out of her face hung in front of her eyes once again. "Focus punch!"

He lunged forward and met his adversary head-on with his suddenly glowing fist. He hit him low enough to be lifted off of the ground.

"Quick attack." With lightning speed, he raced under Donphan's falling figure, the latter's soft belly exposed. The girl closed her eyes as her lips curved upward. "Eruption."

An army of flames shot from all around Jiles like he was a living volcano. The brightness caused everyone in the gym to shut their eyes and Greg stumbled back from the force of the heat waves. When the light finally faded, a few embers were weakly burning away at the ground, most of them surrounding Donphan's fallen form.

Carrie beamed and jumped up from her seat quickly. "Donphan is unable to battle! Typhlosion is the winner!"

Jiles followed up with a roar to reinforce the referee's judgment and Cam let a few laughs of relief escape from her lungs, feeling pretty darn proud of herself.

Greg wiped some sweat from his forehead with the back of his gloved hand and reluctantly grabbed another ball from one of his jacket pockets.

"Don't think you've won just yet. Return." Donphan disappeared in a red light and he threw out his new pokeball. "Go! Aggron!"

The monster that appeared on the field made Cam's eyes go wide. She knew that pokemon. Well, not _that _pokemon specifically, but she knew of the species. That was what her aron would have become.

The horns were much sharper than Donphan's tusks, and his entire body looked to be made of iron and steel. His piercing blue gaze was enraged and his gray tail was gliding from side to side in anticipation. It was apparent that he had tons of energy to expend and was mega powerful. Of course, she knew she would be a good enough trainer to get her aron to evolve into a lairon, but would it have been possible for her to reach this level?

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't hear the call to commence.

"Iron tail."

Greg sounded confident in that command and he had a right to be. With the little speed he had, Aggron moved as fast as his feet would allow as his tail started to glow white.

"Ra?" Jiles narrowed his eyes when he sensed that Cam wasn't paying attention, so he dodged the steel-type easily at his own will. He wondered what his temporary trainer was waiting for – for all he knew, she didn't want him to attack yet.

Oh well. She wasn't his master.

"Raka!" Black smoke climbed out of his mouth and spread through the air, blocking everyone's view of Aggron. Cam snapped out of her reverie when she could no longer see the hulking chunk of metal.

"Wait, what? Jiles, what did you do?" Irritation laced her words and Jiles rolled his eyes, even though she couldn't see through the smokescreen.

"Wonder what her problem is now." The teen in the higher stands sighed at Cam and scratched his arm absentmindedly.

Nigel put a finger to his chin in thought. "Well, she did lose that aron… Maybe she's dwelling on what could have been."

"Huh?"

He turned to Gary and shook his head. "It's nothing. She's just getting distracted, that's all."

"Metal sound."

Greg's pokemon responded with an, "Agg…_rooooon_!" A high-pitched frequency wave pierced the air and everyone in the room threw their hands to their ears. Aggron jumped out of the smoke and charged at Jiles, whipping his glowing tail at the fire-type's back.

On impact, he was sent skidding painfully face first on the rugged field. The smoke began to clear at this point and Greg's expression reflected the truly despicable character held inside.

"You've got the advantage, Jiles…" Cam whispered. The cooperation between her and the fire-type was much better than earlier since she understood how he fought, so it wouldn't be much longer until she had won. For some reason or other, she found that she was hesitating. Had Leo not stolen her aron, she could throw him out of his ball and show him what he could be. She could have seen the eagerness and determination in his eyes to become better, to be fierce like her opponent. He would cutely practice his roars when no one was around, yet she would still hear him from the other room. He would do anything to protect his trainer. Anything.

Cam willed her voice to come to her. She couldn't think about these things now. Not in the middle of a match. The order came out hoarsely and unsure, but it was heard, "Flamethrower, full power!"

He grunted as if to say 'finally' and obeyed. The fire engulfed the aggron quickly and a roar of terrible pain was heard. She watched the pokemon suffer – that flamethrower had been going on for longer than a normal flamethrower should have, and Cam's eyebrows pulled together.

"That's enough." Nigel's starter closed his mouth to cease the flames and Aggron tipped forward and crashed to the ground. His shiny armor was now coated in ash. Greg was frozen to the spot, all traces of his mocking smiles gone. He was beyond stunned. Graveler and Donphan had put up some really good fights, and Aggron was the strongest…yet the ferocious beast was lying unmoving in front of this pathetic excuse of a fire pokemon, this being the quickest knockout he had ever witnessed in his life of a trainer.

Cathy bent down to try and get a better view of Aggron's facial features. She beamed when she saw that his eyes were closed. "Aggron's out! Victory is-"

The petite girl was cut short when Aggron's body shook with a loud growl. He slowly stood with half-lidded eyes and let his jaw slack. Clearly, Aggron was worn out. Jiles was having it rough as well, but his adversary looked almost dead.

Cam's eyes reflected both awe and pity. He had the guts to stand, even though he couldn't take anymore…

Once again, the redhead scolded herself under her breath. She straightened her back and puffed out her chest, hoping that everyone would believe the front she put up. "Jiles, ember."

Jiles stumbled from his epic fighting pose and nearly face planted. That move was weak; he could do so much better than that!

"Do as I say," she warned. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot expectantly, staring hard at Jiles.

He looked from Cam to the aggron. He guessed that she had the right thing going… Aggron couldn't take much more anyway. If he was going to fire off an ember attack though, he was going to make it deadly. He inhaled and shot violent darts of fire and his eyes showed everything far from mercy.

"Iron defense!" Aggron's body glowed while it gained some of its sheen back, but the efforts to protect himself went to waste. He remained standing for a moment shortly after, but his knees collapsed from under him and he fell to the ground once more.

Cathy stared intently at the fallen creature for several seconds, waiting for him to stand up as he had done before. There was no sign of any movement. The entire gym was silent, waiting for the final call.

Carrie nudged Cathy and the former nodded. They brought their hands together and held them up in the air. "Aggron can no longer battle! Victory goes to Cam!"

Samantha and Victoria leapt off the benches and high-fived one another with smiles that cracked their faces in half. Nigel breathed a sigh of relief and started to make his way down the steps to the floor, Gary in tow.

"What kind of trainer only trains one of his pokemon?" Greg had walked across the field and addressed Cam, who shrugged. If she told him the typhlosion wasn't actually her pokemon, he would probably throw a fit since it wouldn't have been fair.

"Let's just say…a friend gave him to me a while back." She stuffed Jiles in her jacket pocket, leaving her hand over the sphere as she was fascinated by the warmth that emitted from the creature inside.

In response, Greg grunted and he turned to Cathy and the others, who were rejoicing over his defeat. He took some money out of his pocket and handed it to Cam for her victory. "I'll be back later for my badge." He began to head for the door as everyone gave him disapproving glances. Apparently, he still thought he was all that.

"Oh, and by the way," the purple-haired man whispered nonchalantly as he locked Cam's wrist in a tight grip. "If we weren't in a gym…I would have let him kill you."

Her jaw slowly dropped at these cruel words, recalling the incident with Donphan. He released her with a satisfied smirk and continued on his way.

"You did it! You won!" Cathy jumped at her excitedly with Carrie at her side.

"That was a great battle."

Samantha nodded, but questioned, "That's totally awesome and all, but where did you get a typhlosion?"

"From me."

Cam's body went rigid at the voice. She _knew _she heard someone familiar in the stands. "Uncle Nigel~" she sang as she gave a small smile, putting her hands behind her back and crossing her fingers. She hoped she wouldn't get in too much trouble. "When did you get here?"

"When you were fighting that graveler. So, you cheat often?" He held out a hand with a raised brow and Cam smiled meekly, handing over Jiles.

"I couldn't let someone like _that _win! Besides," she leaned in and peered at the pokemon inside the ball, "I think we bonded." She smiled, but the mini Jiles just crossed his arms and looked the other way with a sound that clearly translated to a 'hmph.'

Nigel moved the ball away from her now agitated eyes and stuffed him in his pocket. "Those were some nice tricks you had there, but if you _ever _pull anything like you did with that donphan again and you're going straight back to Hoenn. Got it?" He swatted at Cam's head and she easily evaded his hand, giggling.

"It worked though, didn't it?" She ignored the nagging feeling that shadowed her heart, thinking back to what Greg had told her.

"Whether it worked or not, there were plenty of other ways to stop his rollout. You didn't have to resort to a near-death experience!"

Samantha nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it looked cool, but save that kind of stuff for the pokeathletes, okay?"

Cam sighed and twirled a stray strand of her hair with her finger. She was actually starting to get really hot wearing her jacket. It must've been because of Jiles' eruption: the temperature in the room still had to return back to normal.

"You could have kept dodging his attacks until he was worn out. Your dratini looked like he had the stamina for it."

Cam gave a start and snapped her head to the guy behind Nigel. She hadn't noticed that Gary followed her uncle. Actually, she had completely forgotten about him.

"No one asked you, _Oak_," she spat disdainfully.

Victoria gasped and a smile broke across her features and her blue eyes sparkled in recognition. "Oak? I thought you looked familiar just now! You're the famous Gary Oak, aren't you?"

He nodded and crossed his arms proudly with that uppity I'm-better-than-you grin which Cam grew to despise in mere seconds. "Yep, that's me."

"In all his prick-ish glory," Cam added, but Nigel nudged her arm with his elbow and uttered something about her being nice.

"Can I get a picture? Please?" The bluenette had hopeful eyes and her hands were brought in front of her in a pleading gesture.

Gary smirked. "Why not?"

She let out a high-pitched squeal and began digging in her purse for her camera.

Cam rolled her eyes at the fangirling and took off her jacket, hoping that it would help her cool off.

After a bright flash, Samantha gave the camera back to Victoria, who unwrapped her arms from Gary's torso to see the picture. She squealed a bit more and stuffed the camera back into her purse while Cam gave her an incredulous look.

"Hey, where'd you get that?" Gary asked the redhead. His eyes were zoned in on the yin-yang necklace and she answered in a wary tone.

"Found it yesterday outside the train station. Why?"

"I lost it a few days ago and I've been looking for it ever since. Mind giving it back?" Cam stared blankly at his outstretched hand. Her first instinct was to grab it for reasons she didn't know, but her features went askew at the thought and her hand paused in midair, mentally scolding herself for almost doing something strange. She covered it up by slapping his palm as if he had asked for a low-five and closed her fingers around the pendant protectively.

"How am I supposed to know it's really yours?" And from the way it was tied, the necklace couldn't have just casually fallen off somewhere, making her a little less than inclined to just hand it over.

He sighed and pulled out his trainer card that flashed his picture. Around his neck, although only half of it was seen due to the picture cut off, was the same yin-yang symbol.

Cam's eyes widened and she pointed at the teen. "So _you're _the girl this belongs to?"

"Girl? What?" His face fumed irritation and he double-checked his trainer card to see if there was a mistake, but when he found none, his eyes hardened into a glare. Part of him was preparing for an insult, but he was surprised when Cam just shook her head.

"Gah, never mind." She took it off and handed it to him. "It doesn't go with my outfit anyway." She was slightly disappointed at the loss of her newfound item and it was relatively obvious through her sad eyes and distasteful pout. She turned on her heel and stalked to the exit. One of these days, she'll have to get it back. "I'm going to the Pokemon Center, I'll see you guys later!" The other girls in the gym waved her off and Gary and Nigel followed. Victoria fluttered her eyelashes at Gary and instead of the latter flirting back like she expected, he pretended not to notice.

…

Once she, Nigel, and Gary had gotten back from the center, Cam fell into the couch with a huff. The loose springs implanted a feeling of discomfort, but when Gary walked through the kitchen and disappeared in the hallway acting like he owned the place, the feeling burned away to her indignation. Nigel poured some coffee and brought Cam a can of soda and he sat down in the armchair.

Cam lifted the tab as a popping sound rang through the room. "Thanks," she muttered.

"Look Cam, I know you're not happy with him being here, but I can't just leave Professor Oak hanging. I need to figure out the deal with this egg. You understand, right?"

"I know, I know. I get it. But that doesn't mean I have to like it." She gulped down her soda before she said something she would regret. Her uncle was a nice guy. After taking up the assignment of babysitting an arrogant little prick however she decided that he was perhaps being a bit _too _nice and she could think of a few words in her colorful vocabulary that would be fired off at the poor man had she not held her tongue.

"Just try to get along with him, okay? He's not that bad."

"He called me a _razz head_ after I saved _his _egg. Can you say 'ungrateful'? And he flirts with every girl he sees, but not me! He chooses _me _of all people to pick on!"

Nigel tuned his smirk down as much as he could as he replied, "So you're saying you want him to flirt with you?"

"W-What? No!" She almost gagged at the horrid thought and a light tone of pink dusted her cheeks. "It just annoys me how he treats me worse than other people!"

"You know, you've only met him yesterday. Don't you think you're judging a bit too harshly?"

"No way! I've met people like him. I've had a Jerk Face Radar wedged in my brain all my life. I can call out people like him in a cinch."

Nigel let out a disheartened sigh and took a sip from his coffee mug. "Well, he's going to stay here for a few more days until I can figure out what to do next." Cam groaned at this, but he ignored her. "I'm the Kanto expert, and I don't recognize the patterns on the egg at all. I might have to give it to somebody else in another region."

Cam heard the reluctance in his tone. He never liked handing his projects over to other researchers. It was a pride thing.

"Another region! Another region! Chatot!" A bird splashed with an array of color flew into the room and landed on Nigel's shoulder.

"Hm?"

"Expert! Another region! Expert!" he squawked loudly.

"So, you think I should go to another region, huh?"

"Chatot!" The brightness and excitement in his eyes declared an affirmative.

"Let me guess, you'll want to come too?"

"Come too!"

Cam's eye twitched and she pursed her lips. That bird was just so _loud_ and her head was already pounding.

She took a few more gulps of her soda to prevent from yelling at Chatot. The caffeine fed her headache and wouldn't help quell the frustrations building up inside her, but at least it kept her mouth busy. In between the flows of soda, she inquired, "So what are these abnormalities anyway?"

"It sparks from time to time."

"Sparks?"

"Yeah, like it's an electric-type. I've never heard of an egg sparking before, though. I've heard of off-the-wall temperatures for eggs but actually releasing power? That's new."

"So whatever's inside must be pretty strong, huh?"

Nigel shrugged with his free shoulder as he slid a finger down Chatot's beak. "Who knows? In a world full of pokemon, anything's possible." The parakeet beamed happily and spread his wings, flying off his shoulder and into another room. "Which reminds me… Now that I can actually talk to you, there's something Professor Oak told me that you might find rather interesting."

Cam cocked her head as a few strands of hair fell into her eyes. "Oh?"

"Gary's not just here to see me. In fact, the egg only started sparking recently and his grandfather had called me last minute to examine it since he just happened to be passing through. Originally, he was here on another assignment."

"Well, get on with it! What was the assignment?"

"Cool down, I'm getting there. He's here on an…investigation, we'll call it. All over the region, pokemon have been showing up in strange habitats, and there have been a few occasions where people have reported seeing pokemon from other regions out in the wild. You've heard of the lake in Celadon City that's infested with grimer, right?"

"Um, yeah. What of it?"

"It's like that. Some people are even spotting some luvdisc near Olivine, and they're only native in Hoenn."

"Whoa, really?"

"Yeah. I managed to get more information from Gary this morning. Apparently, the stantler that reside on Route 37 invade Ecruteak from time to time."

"Invade? Like…they're angry?"

"Well, maybe invade isn't the right word… Don't get me wrong, some stantler are rather vicious, but most just waltz into the city uninvited. You know, they say if you look at the balls on its antlers, you start to lose all of your senses and you're a sitting duck. It's only temporary, but it's still a hassle for the folks living there. Gary's basically traveling the whole region, and Ecruteak is his next stop."

Any more eye rolls from Cam would result in her amber orbs wiggling out of their sockets. Much to her annoyance, the conversation moved back to Gary. "How long has all this stuff been going on, Uncle?"

Nigel sipped his coffee and adjusted his position on the armchair to get more comfortable. "Only for a few months. It wasn't until recently that the word started to spread, what with all the cities and towns being intruded and weird things happening at fishing spots and in caves. What's interesting is that the pokemon don't seem to be disturbed in any way. They're just going through a movement or something. And because of this whole movement, trainers from all around are journeying and returning to Johto to see what all the fuss is about."

Cam set her soda on the coffee table. "That explains why the rooms in the Pokemon Center were full."

"It does." Nigel sipped some coffee and nearly spat it out distastefully. He downed the rest of the mug before it got too cold. "Hey, you wouldn't mind making dinner later on, would you? I'm tired of making myself ramen…"

His niece nodded nonchalantly. It was routine for her to cook when she visited since Nigel's wondrous experiments in the kitchen would result in melted plastic-ware and complete destruction to the microwave, not to mention a charred and unsatisfying dinner.

It didn't shock her to find no food in the fridge, but a quick trip to the department store could fix that. She walked through the hallway and passed the many spare rooms with the burning knowledge that Gary was in one of them, making himself right at home. She bore her glare into every closed door hoping her hate would seep through the cracks and into his subconscious. She wanted her dislike for the teen to be known to the world as much as the sun that shined in the sky. To be associated with the likes of _him _was rather mortifying to her.

When she had gotten to the back room, she turned the shiny knob on the dark wooden door and pulled it open, revealing a beautiful backyard. Rocks and trees lined the sides of the fence to give a certain variety to the atmosphere and a small pond reflected the bright blue sky near the back. Flowers of all different colors sprouted across the expanse of grass, making the scenery even more breathtaking. Cam had little time to admire it though due to the vines that were strewn across the bountiful area and snaked around the foot of a struggling hoothoot and the tail of a teary-eyed maril. A krabby was sliding back and forth indecisively, afraid to cut the lines for fear of pinching the entangled hostages.

In the middle of the field, Snubbull, Flaaffy, and Machop seemed to be in a heated argument with two mankeys. Cam grinded her teeth upon seeing the monkeys when her brain finally clicked.

"Noah! Fury!" she barked. Two pairs of red eyes met hers and the other pokemon were brought to attention as well. "What did you do?"

The mankeys looked at each other knowingly and stayed put. The lack of respect caused steam to spew from the redhead's ears as she marched forward. She didn't have a set plan in mind, but at least Machop backed her up. The muscled pokemon pushed the mankeys in Cam's direction with beady eyes and as soon as Cam arrived, he and the others left to help Krabby.

Cam held her intimidating posture as she hovered and glowered. Noah and Fury eyed her with disinterest. Upon closer inspection, one could see the only article that told them apart. Noah had a small blue bandana tied around his left ankle and Fury had a red bandana tied around the opposite ankle. They were the mischievous pair – the dynamic duo that frequently caused trouble and bullied the younger pokemon. Cam wasn't having any of that today.

"I can't believe you two. You _know _better! You've been around long enough to learn the rules: No bullying, no pranks, and keep your tempers in check!" Noah tried to stifle his laughter at the last rule and Fury's eyes narrowed at her hypocrisy. "So if you know what's good for you, go – HEY!"

Noah jumped at her face and Fury grabbed some nearby vines to loop around her calves. After a brief struggle, Cam threw Noah off of her shoulder and tipped backwards when Fury pulled on the vines.

The fight for freedom lasted several minutes. The mankeys screeched victoriously and danced a little monkey dance and the other pokemon in the yard clamped their ears or dove back into the pond to protect their eardrums from all the racket. Dealing with these two was a daily occurrence at the Redfern household, and none of the others cared to get involved. Sheer laziness and tiring continuity made them think it wasn't worth the effort to put a stop to the troublemakers because in all honesty, it wasn't really worth it.

"Wow, Nigel wasn't kidding. You really _do _have a way with pokemon."

Cam ceased pulling at the vines around her ankles when she sensed the sarcasm. And it came from the one person she loathed, making the new arrival all the more unwanted.

"Shut up, Gary! I've got this all under control!"

"Looks like it." He appeared in front of her with his usual smirk and kneeled down to her level. To her dismay, Noah and Fury hung from his back and neck respectively and they were both relatively calm. Her brow twitched at the sight. How in the name of Lugia did he manage to get on their good side, and in such a short period of time? The two were now doing everything in their power to pull the most dramatic faces they could with the minimal amount of facial features they possessed and Cam bit her tongue to prevent herself from saying something childish.

Amidst her inner turmoil, she didn't feel the vines slide around and off of her legs. Only when the guy in front of her stood did she realize his good deed.

There were several vines in his hands, and not just the ones that he freed Cam from. They were no longer scattered about while Maril and Hoothoot were bouncing around happily, enjoying the fresh air as if nothing had ever happened. Gary walked near the pond and Krabby followed while appearing very relieved that he didn't have to be the one to save the small pokemon. He kept pace with the teen, even when he stopped to let the mankeys climb onto a large maple tree.

Cam was sitting a ways away, but she could still see the soft smile that graced his lips. Her heart nearly stopped at the revelation that he was capable of smiling anything other than a smirk, but she was more fascinated with how much better it suit him. It made his dark eyes sparkle in a way that brought out the dim green that never seemed to show. Cam figured the endearing act was contagious since a warm smile of her own spread across her face. Of course, that could also be because of the foreign sensation of her heart melting in her chest.

Noah and Fury disappeared into the trees holding the ends of the green ropes after Gary said something that seemed to make their day. Vines and maple trees didn't mix, but if it kept them occupied then to hell with it: let vines be with maples. He pet Krabby affectionately before making his way back to Cam with his hands in his pockets.

Cam could only stare at him in awe. Her awe then transitioned quickly to envy. Not even Nigel had control over the nasty hellions. What made Gary so special? He was a jerk. As far as Cam knew, she wasn't a jerk. He was the bad guy and she was the good guy. So why would _he _have what her uncle called 'The Gift from Arceus'? These thoughts fueled the fire of resentment once more and the powerful feeling of jealousy rushed to her head.

He passed her without a word, ignorant to the little green monster that grew and raged inside Cam. Before he entered the house, he called back, "Pokemon can sense what people are feeling. If you're angry all the time, they lose respect for you and go against your orders."

She twisted around from her spot in the grass to look at him fully. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

His face was serious, as was his tone, "It means take a chill pill and breathe. Not everything will go your way and when it doesn't, you have to have a level head, otherwise you'll never accomplish anything." With that, he disappeared behind the door.

Cam didn't move for the longest time, getting lost in her thoughts.

This was mean-faced Gary, giving her of all people advice. She convinced herself that he was flaunting his knowledge to spite her instead of actually having compassion. But either way, did he have a point? Was she really that angry _all _the time? Is that why Nigel's pokemon never listened to her? All of a sudden, she felt very insecure. Most of her life was spent living with her parents, and thus, away from pokemon. Gary had probably grown up surrounded by the creatures since his grandfather was a famous researcher, strengthening the idea that he knew what he was talking about. But still…Cam couldn't help but to feel even more envious when dwelling on his living standards. Life really wasn't fair.

She stretched her now cramped legs and rose from the grass. She needed to get food for dinner later, and she was practically starving since she made the clever decision of skipping breakfast. She'd probably buy herself some lunch while out and about – Nigel had his ramen and Gary could go hungry.

Her gaze scanned the luscious green habitat until she caught sight of a ledian that was curled up in a huge leaf on a tree branch, enjoying the coolness of the shade in her deep slumber. "Hey, Rosamay!"

Cam headed out for the center of the city with Nigel's ledian at her side. No food in the fridge meant more things to buy and more bags to carry, and since Rosamay had four arms, two legs, and wings, she was the perfect shopping companion. The ladybug was also easily engrossed by everything (especially the glittering scarves in the clothing stores), so she gave less of a hassle than the other pokemon would have given in the overcrowded area.

The redhead kept her thoughts to herself during her quest for food, but Rosamay didn't seem to mind. The latter was entertaining herself by admiring nearby posters of famous trainers and their pokemon. She swooned occasionally when catching the sight of different bug pokemon and was overall distracted from her main goal.

Cam, oblivious to Rosamay's antics, was lost in her own little world.

She couldn't _always _be angry. Her stress levels would be through the roof, and it's not like Gary would know what she was like all the time anyway – they only met yesterday. Jabari and Syke listened to her perfectly well, but she never got angry at her own pokemon unless Syke decided to help the mankeys set up ridiculous traps as one of their cruel jokes. Aside from her own two pokemon, she had a short temper with all the others. So…could her short temper really drive them away? Were pokemon really that sensitive to the feelings of humans? She didn't understand much of it.

Her uncle always told her the same thing Gary had said, but now that she had a second opinion (from the grandson of a famous researcher at that) she was starting to question if it might be true. The anger that always welled up inside was never something she could fix easily. So…

"Will pokemon hate me forever?" she finished the thought out loud as worry creased her forehead. After returning to reality, she couldn't hear the buzzing of Rosamay's wings. All she heard were the usual snippets of the conversations from the people around her that didn't spark her interest in the slightest. With a whip of her head, she quickly spotted the ladybug glued to a window display with hearts in her eyes. Cam weaved through the crowd and finally broke out of the current as impatience picked at her nerves.

"Rosamay, we don't have time for-"

"_Not everything will go your way and when it doesn't, you have to a level head, otherwise you'll never accomplish anything."_

Cam stopped and thought about the words that have been haunting her for the past hour. Was this what he meant?

The ledian tilted her head but remained motionless, wondering what was wrong with Cam.

The trainer nodded her head in resolution. To get the respect of a pokemon, she would have to try to understand it. She didn't know how to connect with any creature other than a human, so she entered a trial-and-error mode.

Walking up to Rosamay while radiating determination, she brought her attention to the poster that the bug was ogling at. It was a beedrill in a fighting stance, but that's not what made Cam sweat-drop. Underneath the image were the words _Pokemon Bug Repellent: Let your beedrill problems bee-gone! Sale 20% off! _

She blinked and actually thought about buying some. After all, it was a pretty good deal. She'd have to come back later without Rosamay, though.

Bringing herself back to the situation at hand, she coughed awkwardly to clear her throat.

"Um…" Connect. That was her goal. What could she say to connect with this ledian? "Uh…so you have a thing for this beedrill?"

Rosamay wasted no time in responding with a quick enthusiastic nod, showing no signs of embarrassment. Cam would have smiled at her behavior, but she was too busy thinking of what else she could say.

"Well…I say he's a pretty hot bug. If I was pokemon, I would definitely date him." Cam nodded her head in approval and gave Rosamay a thumbs-up and a wink, in which the latter repeated her name in agreement.

A great deal of pride swelled up in her heart until it must've been four times the size it originally was. She was getting somewhere and the word 'connect' echoed through her brain, being the perfect motivation.

"I mean, look at those antennas! The way they hang in his huge red eyes in all of his sexiness. And those stingers~! Really sharp, aren't they?" She wasn't quite sure what she was hinting, but Rosamay seemed to get something out of it as she giggled cutely. "And his legs…don't you just want those legs? They're just so…uh…muscular in all the right places!" the ledian had hearts in her eyes once again as her face pressed against the glass longingly.

Underneath the fantastic feelings of accomplishment, Cam couldn't help but wonder if understanding a pokemon was supposed to make her feel uncomfortable and awkward. It wasn't every day she gushed about the sexiness of a beedrill with a bug-type and she felt like she was crossing some sort of line. But in Cam's world, the line was very blurred. Maybe Arceus could forgive her pokebestiality moment just this once since it was all in good nature.

She wasn't sure how to drift to another topic of discussion, so she talked a bit more in hopes that something else would come up.

"I think you two would be fabulous together. With your spots and his stripes, you'd be the perfect match. And just imagine how your kids would be! I mean, I know _I'd _lay his eggs in a heartbeat."

At the mention of eggs, Cam had lost her as quickly as she got her. Rosamay's facial features distorted in alarm as she whipped her head to Cam, looking somewhat shocked and slightly horrified. The girl realized she had said something strange (in the mind of a ledian, that is; _everything _she had just said would sound strange to the human race) and diverted her gaze, trying to think of a follow-up. Just as she did however she spotted a ten-year-old boy a few feet away from them staring at her dumbfounded. All the poor kid wanted to do was buy some potions to train his freshly-caught weedle. Needless to say, he was going to release it as soon as possible after what he just heard.

"N-No wait! It's not like that!" Cam stuttered as she threw up a hand and waved it frantically back and forth. "I swear, I was just-"

The boy raced away in the other direction without saying a word. Cam's face fell. She peeled Rosamay off of the display window as gravity weighed down on her shoulders depressingly. "Forget everything I just said. Let's get some food…"


	5. The Power of Food

**I don't know if May and Gary ever met. In this story, they didn't until now. The magic of fanfiction. **

**Chapter 5: The Power of Food**

Nearly a week had passed since Gary's arrival, and Cam was avoiding said guy as much as she could. She'd run out of the house with a small breakfast in hand before he woke up and came back to the house as little as possible. She spent most of her time with her pokemon at the gym. Greg had indeed come back and defeated the gym leader, sending Whitney into a fit of hysterics. He took pleasure in watching her bawl her eyes out, but grew agitated when she ran off without giving him a badge. In the end, Samantha was the one that gave him the respected symbol and kicked him out as kindly and quickly as she found herself able. Cam didn't object to this since she had gotten creepy undecipherable looks from him throughout the entire match and was glad to see him leave. Her days would continue with the usual lunch she had with her friends at a nearby café and they'd train a bit more afterwards. When the group finally cleaned up and headed home, Cam made sure to stay late hours at the Game Corner, claiming to her uncle that she had "lost track of time" and would sometimes go so far as to block his number whenever he constantly rang up her pokenav. Mostly he just called to whine about wanting some meal that required a level of cooking skill he didn't have, but Cam had already stocked up on food that didn't require appliances to be eaten, giving her the excuse to stay out late. On the few days in which she did come home for short periods of time, she and Gary always locked into a war of sorts. Nigel learned to ignore them and let them fight, otherwise they would gang up on him, and he wanted to keep his body parts intact with the rest of his being.

No progress was being made on discovering the pokemon that lived inside the egg. When Nigel wasn't studying it, Gary and his umbreon were guarding it with their lives. Umbreon wouldn't let anyone get too close unless it was Abigail, who he took quite a liking to. The absol had an air of wisdom and mystery, but was also very gentle and kind, making Umbreon feel that she was perfect for guarding his treasure while he rested or took breaks. The two also had a mutual understanding as they were both dark-types.

And now, as Abigail cradled the object of her protection between her forepaws in the middle of the living room floor, Cam couldn't help but to stare in wonder. She never had much time to dwell on what could be inside; at least she never gave herself the time. She was too irked by Gary, too emotionally warped from losing her aron and encountering an aggron so soon after as if the universe was punching her in the eye, too disappointed in not being allowed to travel the region when so many new pokemon awaited to be met, befriended, and captured, and too restless from the lack of challenge during her training sessions.

"Cam, can you _please _make dinner? I want something warm and healthy and _not _processed food." It wasn't like Nigel to whine and beg, but when he did, he did it in such a pathetic way that his niece couldn't say no.

She yelled back a reluctant "fine" as she climbed the stairs to the hallway that led to her room. Once there, she stuffed her coin case in the bookshelf and stopped to glance at the posters on her wall. After admiring them for quite some time, she forced herself to pull her longing eyes away and she made her way to the kitchen.

"What's cooking, razz head?" Gary leaned against the fridge, but moved aside when a hand swung at his face.

"I believe the saying goes 'What's cooking, good looking?' but I won't force you to say something nicer."

Gary cocked an eyebrow at the girl making Arceus-knows-what. "Oh? And why's that?"

"Because," she began as she stirred the rice, "anything nice that comes out of the mouth of Gary Oak is bound to bring some sort of apocalypse."

"Well with my excellent experience and strong pokemon, I'm sure I'llsurvive," he declared with such a smug grin.

She was about to use some pretty colorful language that would get her grounded for a month, but settled for mumbling, "Not if I push you off a cliff, first…"

"Huh?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Gary gave her a suspicious look. "Did you say you'd push me off a cliff?" Before she could respond with something snappy, he reached his hand out to poke her bare arm. She jumped when she felt a light spark pierce her skin and she glared daggers at him.

"Keep shocking me like that, Sparky. I'll beat you with a frying pan and bury you under my floorboards!"

He smiled at this, thoroughly amused. The electric charge he carried around in his fingers was from handling the egg so much, and he found an odd satisfaction in using this to his advantage by shocking the girl into one of her agitated states.

She almost gave in to a whirl of anger, but noticed a tiny abra on the floor. Gary's gaze fell to the psychic that was trying to get his attention. He bent down on one knee to be at eye-level. "Hey there, Syke. Did you need something?" Cam watched silently from her peripheral as the abra beamed and scaled up his leg and climbed on his back. His tail swished in delight as he found a comfortable grip on his clothing before propping his chin up on one of his shoulders. Gary rose from his crouch and stroked behind Syke's ear while his free hand rested on his hip. A snobbish grin was directed at the chef, who scowled.

Like she cared if Syke started to like him.

The threesome sat at the dining room table. As Nigel gladly dug into his custom-made rice dish, Gary and Cam got into another useless argument.

"I already told you I don't like bluk berries. Why'd you mix them with my rice?"

"If it were up to me, I'd let you starve."

"Nah, I'd just take yours. What'd you mix for yourself, anyway?" Gary leaned forward and stuck his fork into one of her diced berries.

"Hey! Eat your own!"

He shoved the berry into his mouth and successfully dodged her fist as his face broke into a huge grin. "Razz berries?" he said between amused laughs. "You put _razz _berries in your rice? Do you die your hair with this stuff or do you eat so much that it's natural?"

"Shut up! They are _not _razz!"

"They sure taste like them."

"They're rabutas!"

"Aren't those green?"

Cam cursed under her breath as she was hoping he wouldn't know their color. She wasn't about to admit that razz was indeed her favorite berry. After all, that would just supply the enemy with more insults, though it wouldn't make much of a difference after this event. Regardless, her pride prevented her from saying anything out loud.

"Hey." The two bickering teens turned to Nigel, who set his now empty bowl aside. He had an expression of wisdom and importance and they leaned in curiously when sensing the seriousness in his tone. "If you hate bluk berries so much, you wouldn't mind if I ate that, right?" He pointed at Gary's bowl and its owner as well as Cam nearly fell off their chairs in surprise at the unexpected request. The researcher laughed at their reactions and took a sip of his coffee. Unless he wasn't at home, that man was never seen without his coffee. It wasn't even decaffeinated; Cam didn't understand how he managed to fall asleep so quickly at night. "Seriously, though. You two are going to have to learn to get along pretty soon."

"Me? Get along with him?" She pointed with her fork at herself and Gary respectively and shook her head in response to her own inquiry.

"I'm serious, Cam. I'm going to need you to be on good terms with all the pokemon as well."

The redhead narrowed her eyes and swallowed a mouthful. "Please don't tell me you're leaving again. I just got here a week ago!"

"I know, but I _need_ to go see Professor Birch in Hoenn. I'm not getting anywhere with this egg. Gary, you already checked in with Professor Elm and Mr. Pokemon, right?"

Gary nodded in confirmation. His food was pushed aside, getting cold, and forgotten. Cam would have tried to sneak the dish away from him, but she didn't want to devour something that was breathed on by Gary Oak.

"And I still don't know much about it. If I don't figure out what pokemon it is, it might die from not being properly cared for. I finally got a hold of Birch's lab this morning, and he wants to observe it for a few days in person. If nothing comes out of that I might have to make a trip to Sinnoh…"

The girl tapped her eating utensil on the brim of her bowl in thought and turned to Gary. "Where'd you find it, anyway?"

"It was lying on the shore on one of the Whirl Islands."

Cam hummed. "Washed ashore, huh? Mysterious~!"

"I'm heading out tomorrow morning." Nigel put his mug to his lips once more as Cam gave a start.

"What? So soon? Wait a minute, does this mean…?"

Gary put on the much-hated smirk, and some of his brilliant white teeth managed to catch a sliver of light through his slightly parted lips. "Finally catching on, razzy?"

"You're going to leave us here alone? Why can't I come with you? Or…or have _him_ go with you and let me stay here?" She spat the pronoun as if it was poison on her tongue, and Gary put a hand on his chest and acted like he took offense.

Nigel set his mug down after a nice long drink (severely adding to his niece's impatience) and stared at her hard. "Listen, you know you can't leave the city, so you can't come with me. I'm leaving Gary here so if I take longer than expected, he can go on his way to Ecruteak. I'll have it delivered to the Pokemon Center there if I discover that it's doing okay."

"So in the meantime…?"

"You're stuck with me." The smirk was still present on his face and Cam openly groaned.

This couldn't be happening. Not to her. It could have been anyone. _Anybody _would have died to be in the same room with him, and of all the girls that would be able to put up with his arrogance, it had to be her. What she ever did to Arceus to deserve this, she'll never understand.

She was getting to that point of desperation where anything from jumping off of the bullet train at full speed to eating a whole girafarig would be done if it got her out of this situation.

"I'm not that bad," Gary informed with a slight frown.

Cam's mouth pursed in disagreement, but her eyes remained on Nigel. "So you're going to leave me home alone...with a boy?"

Nigel, totally unfazed by the question, narrowed his eyes apathetically. "As long as you're still in one piece by the time I get back, I don't have a problem."

Exasperated that the hint was either ignored or unnoticed, Cam pushed Gary clear out of his chair as her anger steadily built up. "Why can't he go with you, Uncle? You can leave me here all by my lonesome."

Gary got up from the floor with a groan, rubbing the arm that broke his fall. Nigel shook his head and said, "I don't think you'll stay within your boundaries if I leave with Gary. Not only that, I need someone to watch over the pokemon, which Gary is more than capable of doing – what, with working at different labs and such. Duplica's at a wedding in Cerulean and you alone won't fit the bill."

She looked at her uncle weirdly. Now he was keeping up with _her _friends? "I've babysat the pokemon by myself before!"

"Remember how that worked out?"

Cam's eye involuntarily twitched. So the basement had a little flood and most of the electrical equipment was ruined: it was replaceable. And the house wasn't _that _trashed. Just a few hours of pitching in (with the help of the pokemon) and a few hundred dollars, everything was as good as new.

But after many bouts of protesting, the matter was settled. Nigel was sticking with his original plan and Cam was to be left alone with Gary for an unspecified amount of time. She was sure of it: her life was going to suck for a while.

The next morning, Cam had surprisingly made a nice big breakfast. As revenge for what he was putting her through however she hogged most of what she made and gave Nigel only half of what he usually ate. Gary woke up too late and had to fend for himself, which Cam was perfectly fine with. He could be punished, too.

Shortly before noon, Nigel secured his traveling bag and adjusted the egg in his arm to a more secure position. As Cam watched him get ready to walk out the door, she could only ponder the very short list of the positive things that could be gained from his absence. The only thing that came to mind was that noisy Chatot was going with him.

"Well, I'm off." Nigel smiled at the two and Chatot chirped his goodbyes from his perch on the man's shoulder, but Cam sat on the steps with a miserable pout and crossed her arms.

Gary noticed her giving the cold shoulder and filled in for her by nodding at the duo. "Take care."

"Will do. Don't forget to keep an eye on Noah and Fury." He turned to leave, but whipped around again. "Oh, and don't give Vulpix any candy under any circumstances, and don't forget to chain the fridge every night so Quagsire doesn't get in." Nigel began to count the reminders on his fingers, eyeing Cam especially. "Let Jack and Bruce train for only six hours a day, otherwise they'll be at it all week. Delibird likes to sit in front of the air conditioner, so make sure it's on the lowest temperature in the spare room; but keep the door closed – I don't want the house getting colder than it already is. Also, remember to keep Tangles in her pokeball if Jindow's out, and vice-versa. And – Cam, are you listening? This is important-"

"Don't worry about it, Nigel. We have the list," Gary reassured with a carefree smile.

Nigel returned his smile and gave his thanks before heading out the door. As they parted with their final goodbyes and a last "We'll be back before you can say Mew," Cam stood abruptly and stomped up the steps.

Gary's eyes followed her and a sigh escaped from his lungs. Hopefully it wouldn't be too bad. It's not like Nigel broke up any of their arguments while he was there, but Gary didn't want to think about what Cam might do to him without being under the watchful eye of her uncle. To be in her direct line of full fury – her without any thought of the consequences and him just being his awesome self and pushing her off the edge – was an idea that could easily convince an ursaring to run back to its cave in fear and continue hibernation.

And for some ungodly reason, he was looking forward to it.

…

"Razz head!" Gary yelled up the steps. It was almost seven, and she still hadn't come out of her room. "Get down here and eat something!"

"No!" was the sassy answer he received.

Gary frowned and checked his watch, confirming the time. He jumped up the steps with ease and rapped on the door. "Come on! You need food at some point."

"No I don't!"

His eyebrows furrowed in frustration and he pounded on the door with more force.

"Go away!"

"What, so you're going to starve?"

"Yes!"

His fist knocked against the wood one last time before he let it rest against the surface. After a few more seconds of internal debating, he abandoned his attempts with a sigh and went back down the steps shaking his head. His umbreon stood at attention upon seeing his master enter the kitchen.

"Bre?" He tilted his head questioningly from his placement on the counter as Gary opened the fridge.

"No luck, Umbreon. Guess I'm gonna have to throw odds and ends together."

"Breon…"

"Huh…leftover miso soup? No. We have leeks…pickles…cabbage… Yuck, how am I supposed to eat all this by itself? I mean, I always cooked while out on the road, but that food was crap and there's nothing here but a bunch of traditional stuff…"

He closed the door with a huff and searched the cabinets in the kitchen. He turned to his pokemon after taking a jar of peanut butter out of the cabinet next to the sink. "Ah, yes! Modern food! I could really go for some PB&J. I think I saw some jelly in the fridge…"

Umbreon's ears twitched and he cheered gleefully at Gary's findings.

As he made his small meal, he couldn't help but think about what Nigel had told him. When Cam had retreated to her room after dinner the night before, the professor gave him a serious look.

"_She's a big handful," _he had said. _"She does a lot of rash things. Watch out for her, okay?" _

The man's eyes were gentle and caring, but they also held a bit of anxiety. Of course, Gary knew he had every right to be all these things. Cam was…well…Cam, and Nigel's niece. If anything were to happen to her, he would have to take full responsibility. And he was temporarily passing this responsibility onto Gary.

"_No problem, Professor. I promise I'll do everything in my power to keep her out of trouble."_

If the boy didn't feel the pressure before, he could certainly feel it now. She was so stubborn… How was he supposed to keep her out of trouble if she wanted nothing to do with him? He couldn't even get her to leave her room.

Was she really not that hungry? What if she got sick from not eating anything? If she fell ill, would she still insist on starving herself?

Gary took a bite, but he couldn't bring himself to swallow anything. He sat in the living room with his cheek puffed out and Umbreon, sensing something wrong, prodded his trainer's leg curiously with an uncertain paw.

When he saw Umbreon's worried look, he forced the food down and shivered. He didn't realize that his throat had gone dry and his food almost got stuck. "I'm okay, Umbreon." He continued to eat his sandwich, trying to calm down for the sake of his companion that he was stroking. In vain attempts to push the silly, yet somehow believable scenarios from his mind, he turned on the television.

…

Every glance at the clock was another sharp jab at the walls of her stomach. Time wasn't going nearly as fast as she would have liked. One more hour until two in the morning… Gary had to be sleeping by then. She could sneak out of her room, swipe some goodies, and slide back to her room with the quickness of a pikachu and the stealth of an ekans. One more hour…

Unfortunately, her stomach wouldn't wait that long.

Cam jumped off of her bed and opened the door silently, peeking out to see if the coast was clear. Not that anyone would be upstairs at this hour since most of the pokemon slept outside in the warm night weather, but she liked how she must've looked in her secret agent mode. She tiptoed over the fuzzy carpet and flinched when a loud creak leapt off the floorboards. Her movements froze as she listened for the dreaded curious footsteps from the floor below, but heard none. She exhaled and tensed – even her breathing echoed.

Due to many nights of experienced espionage, she stretched her arms and danced gracefully in the usual reckless pattern. She memorized where all the creaks were, and they were no match for her practiced balance and rusty ballet skills. As soon as she reached the top of the steps, she turned to face her room and bowed for the imaginary audience as the spotlight beamed down on her figure and happy red roses graced her feet.

"Like a boss," she whispered proudly. She slunk down the steps and hugged the wall to peer around the corner. No sign of Gary so far. Through the dining room and into the kitchen she went. Upon seeing the fridge, her stomach let out a loud growl and Cam instinctively wrapped her arms around her abdomen. If that wasn't heard, she might as well bang pots and pans together and yell out her mission to be a success. Oddly enough, no one appeared in the doorway.

Cam took a shaky breath and arrived at the fridge, reaching for the handle.

It wasn't until she pulled did she realize that it was chained.

"Wait, what the...?"

Another yank, but nothing came of it. She followed the chain to the metal bar on the wall Nigel had installed to keep Quagsire from indulging in his late-night snack habit, and Cam had no idea how to get it off. Was it tied or locked? She could barely see.

Irritation flashed in her countenance and she rustled the chain in hopes that it would loosen. After many seconds of useless shaking, she puffed out her cheeks and thrust her heel into the hard frigid floor.

"Cam?"

"EEK!" the girl shrieked and threw a blind panicked fist in the direction of the new voice.

"Ow! Watch it! Stop hitting me, Cam! Calm down!"

"Um_bre_on!" A bright flash of light caused Cam to cease her attack and stumble back in shock. Just a second ago it was pitch black, and now this blaring light was destroying her retinas. Not only that: she was hungry. What a terrible night.

Her first thought was that she would be blind forever, but when the light faded and spots of her vision returned to her, she saw the source of her pain. The circles on Umbreon's body were shining brightly, but slowly getting dimmer. His expression matched that of his trainer's, except the latter's hair was more disheveled than usual and he was panting heavily in a defensive stance.

"What the hell is _wrong _with you?"

Cam's mouth was equivalent to that of a fish and she squeaked, "I-I thought you were a burglar."

"You think a burglar would know your name?"

"I wasn't thinking, okay? Don't scare me like that, especially in the dark!" she scolded roughly.

Gary raised an eyebrow at the smoke billowing out of her ears and took notice of her distance from the fridge.

"I thought you said you weren't hungry."

Cam's body straightened and she managed to sputter, "I'm not!"

"Then why are you in the kitchen?"

"It's _my _kitchen! I can be in here if I wanna!"

He crossed the room and flipped the light switch, allowing Umbreon's colors to fade to normality. The pokemon shook his fur and leapt up on the counter while Gary expertly untied the chains and set them aside. He gestured for her to grab something once he opened the door.

"Hmph." She stomped away into the darkness of the living room. She couldn't bring herself to retreat upstairs, but that nagging emotion called pride kept her from seeking delicious salvation with that nuisance of a boy around.

She settled on the couch only to stare blankly at the television. Too hungry to watch anything and too hungry for her mind to drift. It was quite the dilemma. Five minutes, and she couldn't take it anymore. To hell with pride; she was going to have a bloody feast.

Cam envisioned herself jumping off of the couch in a silver suit of armor, holding a sharpened spear and a polished shield. She would race out of the room with a battle cry and invade the kitchen, use awesome pokemon powers of her own that she never knew she had to throw the door off the fridge, and indulge in all of the delicacies she wanted. Then, with a satisfied belly, she would kick down Gary's door and rip him to shreds, just for kicks. She smirked at the thought, but quickly came back to Earth.

"So this is what hunger does to people…" Cam concluded. Just as she let her epic dream falter, she stood to walk to the kitchen, but a familiar purple light sprouted from the wooden floor and blocked her path. The light disappeared to reveal Syke holding a small plate. And on that plate was a gift from Arceus himself.

"You…you made me a sandwich." Cam was tearing up, clearly touched by the deed.

Syke shook his head quickly at the misunderstanding, but she didn't seem to get the hint. She grabbed it and practically shoved it down her throat, leaving Syke to stare at the crumbs glittering the surface. When she was done, she sighed in contentment.

"Peanut butter and jelly. You're the best. Thanks, buddy!"

Once again, Syke's head flew back and forth.

"Hey, what's wrong? Stop moving your neck like that – you'll break it."

Syke's tail drooped in expected defeat as his trainer headed for the stairs. Oblivious as always.

…

A loud knock at the door caused Umbreon to jolt awake, and the first thing he did was dive for the egg a few feet away. He leaned against it in a protective stance and attempted to shake the drowsiness away, but his eyes remained heavy even after ruffling his fur. The threatening sound came again, and he dipped into a crouch as his fur bristled. Abigail was sitting on the other side of the room and watching, thoroughly amused by his behavior.

"Somebody get that!" Cam yelled groggily from upstairs.

Gary walked to the door and checked his watch. "Are you telling me it's noon and she's still not out of bed yet?" Rolling his eyes, he opened the door.

A brunette in traveling gear and a green bandana stood at the doorstep, and her eyebrow raised in confusion upon seeing Gary. "Is…Is Cam here?"

He nodded. "She's upstairs in bed."

The girl gave him a suspicious look and gripped the bag at her side. "I'm a friend of hers. Can I come in?"

He didn't see why she couldn't, so he opened the door a bit wider with a shrug. He trudged to the bottom of the steps and called, "There's someone here for you! Hurry up already!"

"Don't tell me what to do or I'll kick a concave dent in your forehead!" Cam warned in a malicious tone. Several crashes shook the house and muffled scratching sounds danced across the ceiling. Curiously wondering what could possibly make up the wide variety of noises from the floor above, he willed himself to the other room. He probably didn't want to know, anyway.

His attention directed to the traveler, who made herself comfortable. The atmosphere she carried was calm – the complete 180 of Cam's. Her slender legs swayed forward and back, gently pounding the supporting wood behind the fabric of the sofa. Her irises were a bright sapphire that didn't seem interested in observing the room at all, so she must have been in the house before. She didn't have the kind of gaze that could burn a hole in anyone's conscience, but it seemed like that was what she was trying to do to Gary, making him feel rather uncomfortable. It made him feel like he didn't belong there, and he couldn't help but to feel insecure for whatever reason.

"So who are you?" she finally asked.

"I'm a researcher in training. The name's Gary Oak."

"Gary Oak...?" Her eyebrows pulled together, but her face soon lit up in recognition.

That's right. He was the famous Gary Oak, professor Oak's grandson. Revel in his awesomeness.

"You're Ash's rival, right?"

That wasn't quite what he had in mind.

"U-Uh...yeah. I guess I am. Or, I _was_."

"You're not a pokemon trainer anymore?"

"I am, but I'm focusing more on the science field at the moment. You know Ash?" he casually threw in, but he couldn't hold back a wince. The girl didn't seem to notice.

"Yep. We traveled together a few years ago in Hoenn."

Gary could slowly feel the edginess slip away as she visibly grew more relaxed. "Ah, now I remember. He _did _say something about you. You have an older brother, right?"

"No, no. A little brother, Max."

"Then you must be May, the coordinator."

"Yes!" At the mention of contests, her back straightened and her face lit up the room with a proud smile. "That's me!"

Right then, Cam flew into the room with a gigantic smile and embraced (more like crashed into) May. The latter released a yell of astonishment, but mirrored her friend's excited expression.

"Hey, you scared me!"

"Well I missed you. There wasn't time to think about greeting you properly." Cam sat up and attempted to tame her wild sleeping hair, but wasn't getting much success. "What are you doing here, anyway? You usually call before you come over. I didn't know you were traveling in Johto!"

"Slow down; I'm not in a rush like I was last time. I was just passing through and wanted to say hi to you and Nigel... Come to think of it, where is he anyway?"

Cam's features turned sour like she was presented with one million phony pokedollars. "He's away on business and left this idiot in his place. I don't want to talk about it." She motioned to Gary carelessly. "Just ignore him."

"Actually, we've gotten to know each other a bit. Apparently we have a mutual friend." Gary nodded smartly and crossed his arms in a terrific pose.

"And who might that be?"

"Ash Ketchum."

"Oh yeah. Your grandpa told my uncle who told me that you bullied him all the time back in the day."

"What? I did not! He was clearly inferior to me as a trainer."

"Mean Gary Oak. Fits perfectly."

"You know, you're being mean yourself."

"I'm hungry!" May chimed in quickly as a sweat drop graced her forehead.

Cam and Gary entered a whirl of silence, but the air remained unstable as they stared each other down rather unpleasantly.

Abruptly, Gary broke eye contact and headed for the kitchen. "I'll get you something. Any preference?"

Her face softened to show gratitude. "I eat anything and everything."

When he left, Cam automatically turned to May, using an abnormal robotic voice. "Get me out of here."

"Huh?" She tilted her head in confusion, unsure of how to take Cam's stoic face.

"You're traveling Johto again because of that weird pokemon migration, right?"

"Well yeah, everyone is gathering here. It'll be great training for my pokemon, too since we'll meet a bunch of strong trainers. I already have a few appeals-"

"Focus, May. Here's the plan."

"What are you talking about? What plan?"

"I'm coming with you, of course! And we can't let the idiot know where we're going."

"I don't think I like the sound of this, Cammy. You know your uncle won't let you leave the city, and your parents! What do you think they'll do if they find out?"

Cam swatted the air in front of May's nose, offering some sort of a growl. Her face had scrunched up in disgust once more. "Are you kidding me? I don't care what my parents say – that is, if they even find out. If Gary gets a hold of my uncle and blabs, I doubt he'd tell them. He lets me get away with everything; you know, he's cool like that. Besides, I'm only following you to Ecruteak and coming straight back. It's a passive road, so no harm done."

"Well...I guess if you only come for the contest, your uncle will be okay with that."

"Exactly. I'm supporting a friend in her quest to become the best coordinator ever. There's nothing wrong with that."

May nodded, but her composure was flimsy enough for Cam to see that she was still uncertain.

"There's nothing to worry about, I swear. I'll be on my best behavior," she assured.

"Then when should we leave?"

"Whenever you're ready to go! The more time I spend here, the more years shed from my youth."

"That bad?"

"You have no idea."

Cam had been everywhere with May that day. Up in her bedroom, the backyard, and out in the city. They had already stopped by the gym to tell Whitney and the others about their plans and raced to Mr. Game's famous Game Corner and played the slots to regenerate their luck for the road (in the words of Cam). They then skipped to the Pokemon Center to leave their teams to be fed and cared for, stopped by the Department Store to stock up on supplies, and now walked the streets with little idea as to where they were going.

"I love visiting the Day Care, but my uncle is really close to the old couple that works there, so that's a no-no. Hopefully, word won't spread around that I'm gone and it won't make it to my uncle!"

May placed her hands behind her back and leaned forward to examine Cam's face. "Be realistic here. He's going to find out eventually, and if this Gary guy matches what you're telling me, then he's bound to say something to him."

"I can dream, May." She pouted. "Uncle Nigel will forgive me. It would be so much easier if he never found out, though. Maybe I should at least make my bed before I leave..."

"And that'll make him less angry with you?"

"What are you worrying about? It's my problem, and I don't care that much about when I'm getting caught. This is something I've wanted for a heck of a long time, now. Nothing's going to stand in my way!"

May couldn't help but smile amiably at her friend's determination.

"Get out of the way!"

That voice sounded oddly familiar. The two girls whipped their heads around at the cry, only to see a panicked boy charging at them on an unstable bicycle. May shrieked, and Cam was frozen in shock. Her reflexes didn't want to work. A white light flashed through her vision and Jabari came to their rescue, using his tail to smack the tire and send both the boy and his transportation flying. He hit the ground, almost in a silly but sickening way, and Cam felt the burning anger come on.

"Stay off that damn bike, ya stupid kid!"

"Cam, are you sure he's okay?"

"If he is, he's not going to be, because I'm going to kill him! What did I tell you before, huh?" she bellowed at Adam. "That shop is getting a bad reputation because you don't know how to ride a freaking bike. Take it to one of the routes and try it, not in the city with a bunch of people. This isn't bowling, okay?" She roughly blew some stray bangs out of her face and stomped over to the cowering teen, grinding her teeth in an ugly and threatening fashion.

"I'm sorry! I took it back to get it fixed and this was the new one they gave me."

"Let's see if you can ring up those excuses while I pound your face in."

"Uh, Cam?" May called timidly from a few feet away. "We're leaving soon, remember? You should end on a positive note with people to avoid bad luck."

Cam was still glaring at Adam and baring her teeth like a vicious pokemon, but his attention flickered to May.

"You girls are hitting the road soon? Where are you going?"

"Ecruteak. For a contest."

"Ah, so you're a coordinator!" He floundered to his feet and beamed. "I don't see coordinators around Johto that often. Not as many as in other regions, I mean. You any good?"

May smirked and crossed her arms. Confidence rolled off of her in waves. "Yep! I won the Grand Festival in Hoenn last year."

"Whoa, really? Man, I sure am out of the loop. You must be pretty good, then."

"You must be pretty good, then," Cam intercepted in a squeaky voice. "Of course she is. She's May Maple. The best of the best!"

"Oh, I don't know about that..." The coordinator flushed and scratched at her cheek shyly while Adam gave Cam a strange look.

"I'm Adam, by the way."

"Oh, nice to meet you. I'm May, as Cam said."

The redhead rolled her eyes at the introduction and drummed her fingers on her arm impatiently.

"So are you entering the contest, too?"

Cam stopped stewing and motioned for him to repeat himself, not realizing before that this amateur had the audacity to keep speaking to her.

"Are you two going to be competing with each other?"

She huffed and glared at him hard, stomping her foot childishly into the ground. "Now why would I enter a contest with May in it? Number one, she's my friend. Number two, I don't do contests. I battle."

"Just because she's your friend doesn't mean you can't enter the contest. In fact, that's what most coordinators do. It's only friendly competition, after all." His hands gripped the handlebars of his bike and twisted the front wheel back and forth as he spoke.

May nodded in agreement. "Dawn and Ash competed with me a few times. It was really fun!"

"Yeah, but I'm not too enthused about becoming your opponent, May. You get too excited about contests, who am I to get in your way? And all these stories you tell me about you and Drew snapping at each other offstage doesn't make me want to go up against you any time soon."

At the mention of his name, May blushed faintly, but shook it away and protested. "T-That's different, though. Drew's a jerk and you're not."

Cam shrugged and stuffed her hands in her jacket pockets. "Nah, the contest life isn't for me. I'm more of a battler; I always was."

"Then maybe you'd want to battle me sometime?" Adam smiled hopefully and motioned to his shoulder bag, which was probably where he was holding his pokeballs.

"If you fight as well as you ride a bike, then it's not gonna happen," she deadpanned, beginning to walk away with the obvious veil of disinterest.

May stayed with her hands locked behind her back, watching Cam go further and further. When it was clear that she wasn't coming back, the brunette turned to Adam with twinkling kind eyes and said, "I guess we'll get going, then. It was nice meeting you, Adam."

"H-Hey, wait a second."

She tilted her head in question, noticing his sudden anxious expression.

"Um..." he began awkwardly. "I was wondering if...you wouldn't mind, you know, me...maybe coming along with you? I really have nothing better to do with my time. I'm obviously not getting anywhere with this bike, and I get very lonely and-"

"Sure!"

He blinked rapidly, taken aback by the zealous exclamation. "Really?"

"It's no problem. The more, the merrier!" she quoted as she waved him along lightheartedly.

Adam beamed and guided his bike to a nearby dumpster. With a new found energy, he trotted to May's side and followed Cam's shadow, fully aware but uncaring of how she would react once she found out their party of two had a new addition.


End file.
